BV 
ST 


UC-NRLF 


$B    53    3MD 


MAH  13  1914 


AUTO-SUGGESTION 
IN  PRIVATE  PRAYER 


A  Study 

in  the  Psychology 

of  Prayer 


By 
KARL  RUF  STOLZ,  B.  D.,  Ph.  D. 


AUTO-SUGGESTION 
IN  PRIVATE  PRAYER 


A  Studv 

in  the  Psychology 

of  Prayer 


I 


KARL  R.  STOLZ,  Ph.  D. 
Professor  in   Wesley  College 


Digitized  by  the  Internet' Archive 
•    in  2007  with  funding  from 
IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/autosuggestioninOOstolrich 


PREFACE 

The  writer  has  found  the  two  following  conceptions  of 
prayer  current  and  typical:  that  it  is  purely  subjective  in  its 
effects;  that  it  is  a  miracle-working  process  in  the  sense  that  its 
answer  is  irreducible  to  natural  law.  It  is  hoped  that  this  lit- 
tle book  will  help  to  modify  these  conclusions. 

Many  have  dismissed  the  whole  subject  of  prayer  because 
they  have  well-grounded  suspicions  that  its  operations  are  sub- 
jective. They  have  discredited  the  subjectivity  of  prayer  be- 
cause they  have  not  appreciated  the  marvelous  ongoings  of  the 
mind.  It  is  the  ambition  of  the  writer  to  call  attention  to  the 
value  of  religiously  sanctioned  mental  processes.  The  following 
pages  tend  to  exalt  the  subjective  efficacy  of  prayer. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  interpretation  of  the  answer  to 
prayer  in  terms  of  miracles  is  deistic  to  the  core.  Deism  as- 
sumes that  the  universe  is  self-running,  at  least  for  the  present, 
and  that  the  miraculous  is  the  only  evidence  we  have  of  the 
presence  of  God.  The  writer  aims  to  point  out  that  the  na- 
tural laws  which  are  made  operative  through  prayer  are  forms 
of  the  self-activity  of  God,  that  the  natural  is  supernatural  in 
its  origin,  and  that  the  supernatural  has  a  natural  and  uniform 
mode  of  self-expression.  The  present  volume  is  a  plea  for  the 
doctrine  of  the  Immanence  of  God. 

In  order  to  show^  that  the  fundamentals  of  religion  are  not 
disturbed  by  a  psychological  analysis  of  prayer,  this  treatise  is 
brought  to  a  close  with  a  short  chapter  devoted  to  ultimate  con- 
siderations. The  scientific  custom  of  merely  describing  pro- 
cesses as  such  has  been  departed  from  in  a  constructive  attempt 
to  relate  the  findings  of  this  study  to  a  religious  conception  of 
the  finalities. 

It  would  be  presumptuous  for  the  writer  to  pose  as  the 
pioneer  in  the  field  of  the  psychology  of  prayer.  A  cursory  ex- 
amination of  the  appended  bibliography  will  convince  the  reader 
that  others  have  broken  the  ground.  The  writer  has  tried  to 
profit  by  the  studies  of  others  and  at  the  same  time  to  attack 
prayer  from  a  fresh  standpoint.     It  would  be  either  a  reflection 

281567 


Preface 

upon  the  attainments  of  others  or  a  sure  indication  of  the 
writer's  lack  of  appreciation  if  the  present  study  did  not  incor- 
porate at  least  some  of  the  findings  of  others. 

It  would  be  preposterous  to  say  that  all  of  the  conclusions 
arrived  at  in  this  book  are  incontrovertible;  nevertheless,  the 
author  hopes  that  some  of  his  findings  will  stand  the  test  of 
further  investigation,  that  he  has  made  some  definite  contribu- 
tion to  a  better  understanding  of  the  meaning  and  value  of 
prayer.  The  prayer  habits  of  many  religions  and  peoples  must 
be  diligently  studied  and  compared  before  valid  generalizations 
can  be  made,  and  the  final  word  be  spoken,  as  to  the  nature  and 
function  of  prayer. 

The  wTiter  is  under  obligations  to  many  who  have  helped 
to  give  this  study  its  present  form  and  content,  especially  to 
Professor  Edwin  Diller  Starbuck,  at  whose  feet  he  had  the 
privilege  of  sitting  as  a  graduate  student  in  the  psychology  of 
religion  and  philosophy. 

KARL  R.  STOLZ. 

Grand  Forks,  North  Dakota, 
April,  1913. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Chapter                                                                                     Page 
I     The  Point  of  View 7 

II  Attention  in  Prayer .v 23 

III  Faith  in  Prayer 41 

IV  The  Answer  to  Prayer , 55 

V  The  Answer  to  Prayer — Continued 79 

VI     Devotional     Prayer. 95 

VII     Unanswered   Prayer. 105 

VIII     Wider   Considerations 121 

Appendix 133 

Selected  Bibliography 135 

Index  of  Names 137 


Copyright  applied  for. 


Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  POINT  OF  VIEW 

In  man's  quest  for  the  highest  values  prayer  occupies  a 
unique  place.     While  a  select  few  seek  truth  by  diligent  re- 
search   in    the   laboratory   or   scan   the 
stellar  universe  for  a  glimpse  of  reality, 
The  Uniqueness  while  many  stand    enraptured     before 

of  Prayer  the  masterpieces  of  art  or  listen  spell- 

bound to  the  greatest  of  musical  com- 
positions, while  some  climb  lofty  moun- 
tain peaks  or  delve  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth  or  grope  their 
way  to  the  poles  for  a  satisfying  portion,  while  others  try  to  find 
the  highest  good  in  the  barter  and  trade  of  the  market-place  or 
in  the  attainment  of  a  place  in  polite  society ,-^in  the  midst  of 
every  conceivable  manner  in  which  men  pursue  what  to  them 
seems  most  worth  while,  multitudes  temporarily  withdraw  from 
the  presence  of  their  fellow-men,  fall  upon  the  knees,  clasp  the 
hands,  close  the  eyes,  bow  the  head,  and  pour  forth  their  deepest 
longings  and  highest  aspirations,  and  arise,  clothed  with  a  unique 
sense  of  peace  and  power.  That  prayer  is  the  source  of  power 
in  the  lives  of  many  people  whose  intelligence  and  character 
compel  the  respect  of  others,  no  observer  of  di??f;rimination  can 
deny. 

It  is  not  at  all  strange  that  many  abhor  a  critical  examina- 
tion of  the  marvelous  phenomenon  which  we  call  prayer.  Many 
instinctively  shrink  from  submitting  this  sacred  and  personal 
experience  to  a  rigorous  analysis,  lest  unholy  hands  commit  a 


f 


8        "  "    '.*    '    Amo-S-u^ff^stion  in  Private  Prayer 

sacrilege  and  cast  reflections  upon  the  value  of  religion.     The 

fear  lest  an  investigator  prove  to  be  an 

iconoclast  with  unsympathetic  approach 

^,  ^  .  .  .  to  the  task  and  consequent  negative 
Ine  Spirit  in  ^  ,.  .  ,  ,, 
TTTi  •  1  1-.  nndings,  is  not  always  groundless. 
Which  Prayer  ^tt,.,  •  u- 
oi  1  1  T^  r.  ,.  ,  While  many  rest  content  in  their  ex- 
Should  Be  Studied  •  •  ,  ,  i  ,  r  j 
periential    knowledge    of    prayer    and 

feel  no  need  of  a  critical  investigation, 
there  are  others  who  are  entitled  to  a 
just  consideration.  There  are  restive  minds  that  crave  a  ra- 
tional basis  for  the  prayer  life.  They  consider  the  scientific 
method  a  crucible  in  which  the  dross  is  separated  from  the 
gold.  They  assume  that  no  fact  is  too  sacred  and  personal  to 
be  tested.  They  hold  that  a  critical  study  of  the  facts  of  prayer 
should  be  more  than  an  academic  exercise  or  the  mere  gratifying 
of  the  instinct  of  curiosity;  they  insist  that  intelligent  analysis 
and  description  should  disclose  the  real  merits  of  prayer  and 
lead  to  an  increased  control  of  its  underlying  principles.  This 
attitude  is  manifestly  sympathetic  and  leads  to  constructive 
work.  And  it  is  in  this  spirit  that  this  inductive  study  of  auto- 
suggestion in  prayer  is  undertaken. 

Although    the   subject   may   be   approached   from   various 
angles,  the  writer  has  set  for  himself  the  task  of  ascertaining  how 
and  to  what  extent  the  facts  of  private 
prayer  may   be   expressed   in   terms  of 
Auto-Suggestion  auto-suggestion.     It  is  obvious  that  it 

Defined  is  necessary  at  the  outset  to  know  what 

is  to  be  understood  by  auto-suggestion, 
for  without  a  proper  conception  of  it 
an  intelligent  study  is  impossible.  An  auto-suggestion  may  be 
defined  as  a  self-imposed  idea  which  tends  to  realize  itself  auto- 
matically. An  auto-suggestion  involves  three  phases :  ( 1 )  the 
introduction  of  an  idea  into  the  mind  by  the  self,  (2)  faith  in  the 
realization  of  the  idea,  (3)  the  self-realization  of  the  idea.  No 
auto-suggestion  can  be  effective  when  any  one  of  these  three 
characteristics  is  wanting.  Each  makes  its  own  particular  con- 
tribution to  the  whole  process,  but  is  at  the  same  time  so  inti- 


The  Point  of  View  9 

mately  related  to  the  others  that  it  is  impossible  to  determine 
where  the  activity  of  the  one  ends  and  that  of  the  others  begins. 
The  unity  of  auto-suggestion  should  be  borne  in  mind  in  the 
following  brief  description  of  its  salient  aspects.  J 

The  introduction  of  an  idea  into  the  mind  by  the  self  is 
the   basal   factor   in   auto-suggestion.     It   may  be   described   in 
.  terms  of  attention    to     the     suggested 
idea.     The    idea    to    be    realized    is    a 
Lodging  the  mental  pressure;  it  is  forced  upon  the 

Self-suggested  stream  of  consciousness.     Furthermore, 

Idea  in  the  Mind  an  auto  suggestion  is  a  self-suggestion ; 

the  mental  pressure  is  self-imposed;  the  " 
field  of  consciousness  is  restricted  to  the 
idea  by  one's  own  volition;  the  attention  is  given  the  idea  on 
the  person's  own  initiative.  The  self-suggested  idea  may  have 
its  source  indirectly  in  a  volitional  pressure  exerted  by  another 
self,  or  mxore  directly  in  the  consciousness  of  the  individual  in 
whom  it  is  realized.  That  a  social  suggestion  arises  from  with- 
out and  an  auto-suggestion  from  within  the  personality  in  which 
it  is  effective,  is  a  distinction  which  must  not  be  pressed  too 
hard;  for  in  an  auto-suggestion  the  prompting  may  have  been 
merely  immediately  internal,  more  remotely  it  may  have  been 
external.  Often  the  difference  is  simply  one  in  the  degree  of 
mental  elaboration  which  the  suggested  idea  undergoes  before  it 
is  realized.  When  an  idea  suggested  by  another  person  is  but 
slightly  elaborated  before  it  is  realized,  we  may  call  it  a  social 
suggestion;  but  when  that  very  same  idea  is  considerably  modi- 
fied before  it  is  expressed,  we  have  a  clear  case  of  auto-sugges- 
tion. In  a  very  vital  sense  a  social  suggestion  becomes  an  auto- 
suggestion in  many  instances.  An  idea,  forced  upon  conscious- 
ness by  an  external  will,  precipitates  mental  imagery — auditory 
or  visual,  tactile  or  motor,  or  what  not — which  starts  a  train  of 
associations — one  thing  reminding  of  a  similar  or  extremely  dis- 
similar thing,  one  incident  reminding  of  another  occurring  at 
the  sam.e  time  or  place — v/hich  in  turn  may  arouse  the  em.otions 
to  a  considerable  extent,  all  of  which  may  so  radically  modify 
the  suggested  idea  that  it  loses  its  original  form  and  content.     It 


10  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

is  obvious  that  it  is  not  always  easy  to  determine  whether  one  is 
dealing  with  a  social  or  an  auto-suggestion.  Many  self-sugges- 
tions have  their  origin  in  such  clearly  conscious  mental  states  as 
memory,  reasoning  and  judgment.  The  subconscious  with  its 
rich  content  of  biases  and  prejudices,  sentiments  and  instincts, 
is  a  prolific  source  of  self-suggestions.  In  short,  to  hold  in 
mental  focus  an  idea  quite  tinged  with  one's  own  mental  states 
is  the  first  essential  of  effective  auto-suggestion. 

The  second  phase  of  auto  suggestion  is  faith  that  the  idea 
will  be  realized.  At  first  the  suggested  idea  may  meet  with  con- 
siderable  opposition,   but   eventually   it 
must   be   uncritically    accepted   by   the 
Faith  in  the  person.     The  degree  of  opposition  en- 

Suggested  Idea  countered  by  the  self-suggested  idea  is 

in  inverse  proportion  to  the  suggesti- 
bility of  the  person  for  that  idea.  Like 
a  check  presented  at  a  bank,  the  idea  must  be  indorsed  by  the 
self  before  it  can  be  ''cashed."  In  the  case  of  auto-suggestion, 
however,  the  indorsee  and  the  cashier  of  the  idea  are  one  and 
the  same  person.  Faith  tends  to  express  itself  in  an  expenditure 
of  energy  in  the  direction  of  expectation ;  there  is  an  uninten- 
tional striving  toward  the  realization  of  the  accepted  idea. 
Faith  in  terms  of  effort  stimulates  the  subconscious  activities 
which  tend  to  realize  the  suggested  idea.  If  the  function  of 
faith  is  to  give  direction  to  the  subconscious  processes,  it  follows 
that  it  is  entirely  irrelevant  to  what  one  attributes  the  result. 
It  is  common  knowledge  that  in  the  practice  of  mental  thera- 
peutics the  idea  of  health  suggested  to  the  patient  tends  to  realize 
itself  regardless  of  whether  he  believes  in  the  efficacy  of  a  bread- 
pill,  a  drug  or  his  physician.  The  outcome  is  not  determined  by 
the  nature  of  the  object  of  faith,  but  by  subconscious  activities 
aroused  by  expectation.  The  expectancy  of  the  reaction  is  of 
primary  importance;  the  character  of  the  reputed  agency  is  a 
secondary  matter. 


The  Point  of  View  11 

The  third  aspect  of  auto-suggestion  is  the  self-realization 
of  the  self-suggested  idea  through  the  automatic  processes  of 
the  mental  life.     Once  securely  lodged 
in  the  mind  and  believed  in,  an  idea 
The  Self-  tends   to   generate   the   power   of   self- 

Realization  of  expression.     The  automatic  realization 

Self- Suggestions  of  the  suggested  idea  is  made  possible 

by  the  tendency  of  whatever  is  in  the 
mind  to  express  itself.  The  self-expres- 
sion of  the  self -suggested  idea  is  a  subconscious  process.  The 
writer  subscribes  to  the  view  that  our  mental  life  is  much  more 
extensive  than  the  present  mental  states  of  which  we  are 
aware,  that  mental  processes  of  which  we  are  not  aware 
are  continually  taking  place.  A  subconscious  process  is 
a  mental  activity  of  one's  own  self,  of  which  one  is  not 
cognizant  as  one's  own  personal  experience.  The  waking  con- 
sciousness takes  into  account  only  the  ripples  on  the  surface  of 
the  great  stream  of  the  mental  life.  Most  of  life  is  submerged 
beneath  the  threshold  of  consciousness.  Nevertheless,  the  rela- 
tion between  clearly  conscious  and  subconscious  activities  is  one 
of  absolute  unity  and  continuity.  What  goes  on  beneath  the 
threshold  of  consciousness  is  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case  be- 
yond introspection  and  description,  and  it  is,  therefore,  not  safe 
to  say  much  more  than  that  a  suggestion  is  just  what  the  word 
implies  that  it  is, — a  hint,  a  proposal,  a  prompting,  a  cue,  an 
intimation — about  which  subconscious  activities  of  which  we 
know  next  to  nothing  cluster.  Hints  gleaned  from  various 
sources  indicate  that  attention  and  faith  occasion  the  subcon- 
scious realization  of  the  self-suggested  idea.  Professor  Jastrow 
writes,  "There  exists  in  all  intellectual  endeavor  a  period  of 
subconscious  incubation,  a  process  in  great  part  subconscious,  a 
slow,  concealed  maturing  through  the  absorption  of  suitable 
pabulum."^  And  Professor  Starbuck  says,  "After  one 
exerts  an  effort,  the  fruition  of  it  is  accomplished  by  the  life- 
forces  which  act  through  the  personality.     It  is  a  well-known 

^The  SubconsciouSj  p.  99. 


12  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

law  of  the  nervous  system  that  it  'tends  to  form  itself  in  accord- 
ance with  the  mode  in  which  it  is  habitually  exercised.'  It  is 
only  a  slight  variation  on  this  law  to  say  that  the  nervous 
system  grows  in  the  direction  of  the  expenditure  of  effort."^ 
These  supplementary  quotations  throw  a  few  grateful  rays  ol 
light  upon  the  subconscious  processes  involved  in  the  realization 
of  the  self-suggested  idea.  Attention  as  a  selective  activity  de- 
termines just  which  idea  of  the  many  possibilities  shall  be  im- 
pressed upon  the  mind.  Faith  as  the  activity  of  the  will  encour- 
ages the  tendency  of  the  idea  to  express  itself,  and  subconscious 
activities  respond  to  this  encouragement. 

The  element  of  time  is  an  important  factor  in  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  idea  suggested.     The  length  of  the  period  of  sub- 
conscious incubation  varies  directly  with  the  complexity  of  the 
idea,  other   things  being  equal.     Some 

_,      _          ,  .              self-suggested  ideas   realize     themselves 

The  Length  of  i           •                   i -i        i 

^     .    ,     ^  almost  mstanter,   w^hile  others   require 

the  Period  of  • ,      n       •                              t 

_    ,             .  considerable    time    to    mature.     In    re- 

Subconscious  i     • ,       ,              •    ,  i    i  • 

.  sponse  to  the  idea  that  one  is  blushing, 

it  is  highly  probable  that  the  blood  will 
flow  to  the  face  in  copious  quantities  at 
once.  The  self-suggested  idea  of  blushing  involves  a  relatively 
simple  subconscious  response,  and  is  therefore  realized  almost 
instantaneously.  On  the  other  hand,  a  novice  may  suggest  to 
himself  that  he  is  fully  competent  to  render  one  of  Beethoven's 
sonatas,  and  fail  miserably  even  after  many  heroic  attempts. 
The  amount  of  time  required  for  the  self-realization  of  this  idea 
would  depend  much  upon  native  ability,  previous  musical  train- 
ing and  the  complexity  of  the  sonata.  In  the  case  of  the 
amateur's  attempts  to  realize  this  self-suggestion,  repeated  effort 
to  master  the  difficult  composition  and  corresponding  neural 
growth  would  be  necessary.  The  realization  of  the  idea  would 
doubtless  consume  considerable  time. 


'^The  Psychology  of  Religion,  p.  111. 


The  Point  of  View  13 

It  is  a  common  experience  that  after  a  seemingly  fruitless 
attempt  to  realize  a  difficult  auto-suggestion  has  been  followed 
by  a  period  of  rest,  a  fresh  effort  is  at- 
tended with  success.  For  instance,  one 
may  make  constant  use  of  auto-sugges- 
Periods  of  Rest  in  tion  in  trying  to  master  the  art  of  type- 
Auto-suggestion  writing.  After  a  certain  degree  of  skill 
has  been  acquired  one  may  fail  to  detect 
any  appreciable  progress  despite  con- 
tinued effort  and  self-suggestion.  Let 
the  attempt  be  discontinued  for  a  season.  Resuming  the  work 
after  the  interval  of  complete  rest,  one  may  be  astonished  at  the 
ease  with  which  he  now  masters  the  technique  of  typewriting. 
In  such  a  case  two  things  probably  occur  during  the  period  of 
rest.  Countless  hindering  mental  tendencies  which  are  natur- 
ally developed  during  the  course  of  the  unsuccessful  effort, 
doubtless  disappear  during  the  period  of  rest.  The  more  firmly 
established  associations  tend  to  develop  during  a  season  of  in- 
activity, while  the  less  deeply  intrenched  atrophy.  The  inhibit- 
ing tendencies  being  only  slightly  drilled  in,  die  out  during  the 
time  of  rest,  but  the  correct  impressions  being  sufficiently  in- 
grained, grow  through  the  nutrient  changes  set  up  by  the  action 
of  the  blood. ^  It  is  quite  certain  that  an  intermission  in 
difficult  and  complex  auto-suggestion  has  a  dual  effect:  on  the 
one  hand,  it  furthers  subconscious  incubation  in  the  right  direc- 
tion ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  tends  to  uproot  hindering  associations 
built  up  through  misdirected  effort.  If  no  temporary  release 
from  effort  occurs  in  highly  complex  auto-suggestions,  there  is 
grave  danger  that  the  wrong  impressions  through  continuous 
striving  and  consequent  stimulation  wax  stronger,  while  the  cor- 
rect associations  tend  to  evaporate. 


^See  F.  W.  Book,  The  Psychology  of  Skill,  p.  117. 


14  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

In  some  cases  the  person  reaches  a  point  in  his  attempts  to 
realize  the  self -suggested  idea  where  he  feels  that  further  effort 
can  avail  nothing.     Ceasing  to  strive,  he  finds  the  idea  realized. 
When  the  suggested     idea     has     been 
realized  beneath  the  threshold  of  con- 
Cessation  sciousness,  cessation  of  conscious  effort 
of  Effort                           seems  to  open  the  w^ay  for  the  emerg- 
ing of  the  subconscious  result  into  con- 
sciousness.    Subconscious    development 
and  conscious  efFort  may  be  looking  toward  the  same  end,  but 
from  slightly  different  angles.     Slightly  misdirected  activities  of 
the  will  guard  the  entrance  into  consciousness,  but  when  they 
relax  their  vigilance  the  subconsciously  realized  idea  crosses  the 
threshold.      Passivity,   apathy,   indifference,   and  sometimes  de- 
spair, accompany  the  cessation  of  effort,  but  are  displaced  by 
satisfaction,  interest,  exhilaration,  and  exaltation,  when  the  self- 
suggested  idea  is  expressing  itself  above  the  threshold  of  con- 
sciousness. 

In  response  to  auto-suggestion  many  varieties  of  activity 
are  affected,  such  as  perception,  feeling,  memory,  action,  and  rea- 
soning.    Looking  at  the  full  moon  shining  in  a  clear  sky,  one 
may  see  almost  anything  the  notion  of 
which  is  imposed  upon    the     mind — an 

illuminated  fissure-riven     surface,     the 
The  Influence  of  ^^^^^  ^j^^  ^^  ^  ^^^  ^^^,g  ^^ij-^g  ^^^^^ 

Auto-suggestion  ^^  ^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^  ^  woman's  face  half 

hidden  by  her  tresses.  The  mere  recol- 
lection of  a  bitter  medicine  taken  weeks 
before  is  often  sufficient  to  induce  the  unpleasant  experience  of 
nausea.  Memory  is  influenced  when  one  makes  the  self-sug- 
gestion that  he  will  recall  the  data  with  which  the  mind  is 
charged.  An  otherwise  impossible  action,  such  as  the  lifting 
of  a  heavy  weight,  is  often  accomplished  as  the  result  of  the 
auto-suggestion  that  it  can  be  done.  The  idea  that  one  is  equal 
to  a  difficult  process  of  reasoning  tends  to  realize  itself.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  exhaust  the  possibilities  of  auto-suggestion, 
for  its  use  affects  the  whole     gamut     of     mental     experiences. 


The  Point  of  View  15 

Arousing  an  emotion,  augmenting  an  action,  inhibiting  a  sensa- 
tion, self-suggestion  is  constantly  affecting  the  mental  life. 

In  an  exuberant  appreciation  of  the  possibilities  of  auto- 
suggestion it  is  well  to  remember  that  it  is  not  omnipotent. 
There  are  limits  which  it  cannot  transcend.  Its  limitations  are 
two-fold:  in  the  first  place,  its  direct 
influence  is  restricted  to  mental  pro- 
The  Limitations  of  cesses;  in  the  second  place,  within  its 
Auto-suggestion  proper  sphere  its  activity  is  limited  by 

the  amount  of  vitality  of  the  human 
organism.  Since  auto-suggestion  is  not 
operative  outside  the  scope  of  personal  influence,  one  is  certain 
to  be  disappointed  if  he  throws  a  stone  into  the  air  and  confi- 
dently expects  it  to  remain  suspended  between  earth  and  sky  in 
response  to  the  idea  firmly  fixed  in  mind  and  believed  in  that  it 
will  behave  in  that  extraordinary  manner.  It  is  true  that  in  an 
extreme  case  one  might  be  positive  that  he  saw  the  stone  sus- 
pended in  midair,  but  this  would  be  an  hallucination,  a  subjec- 
tive experience.  No  amount  of  auto-suggestion  will  bring  the 
mountain  to  Mohammed:  the  most  that  it  can  do  is  to  help 
Mohammed  go  to  the  mountain.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that^ 
auto-suggestion  has  an  indirect  influence  over  inanimate  objects 
by  affecting  the  human  agent  acting  upon  them.  On  the  other 
hand,  only  when  there  is  an  adequate  degree  of  force  resident 
within  the  organism  can  the  suggested  idea  be  realized.  When 
disease  has  lowered  the  vitality  of  the  human  organism  below  a 
certain  degree,  the  life-forces  are  too  weak  to  realize  the  idea  of 
health,  be  it  ever  so  persistently  held  in  mental  focus  and 
relied  upon  by  the  patient.  It  would  be  impossible  for  the 
average  man  to  lift  a  ton  by  sheer  strength  of  arm  in  response  to 
the  self-suggestion  that  he  is  equal  to  the  herculean  feat.  To 
realize  itself  this  idea  would  have  to  be  handed  down  from  one 
generation  to  another  no  one  knows  how  many  centuries.  Thus 
we  see  that  auto-suggestion  is  effective  only  when  it  touches  the 
mental  life,  and  that  its  efficacy  is  furthermore  limited  by  the 
supply  of  energy  in  the  organism. 


16  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  form  given  the  suggested 
idea,   all   auto-suggestions   may   be   divided   into   two   classes — 

direct  and    contrary     auto-suggestions. 

A  direct  auto-suggestion  is  one  w^hich  is 
Direct  and  clothed  in  the  terms  of  what  one  is  de- 

Contrary  sirous  of  bringing  to  pass;  a  contrary 

Auto-suggestion  one  is  stated  or  thought  in  the  terms  of 

w^hat  one  wishes  to  rid  the  self  of  or  to 

avoid.  The  former  is  positive  in  form, 
the  latter  negative.  In  successful  direct  auto-suggestion  the 
response  is  as  intended ;  the  result  of  a  contrary  auto-suggestion  is 
often  the  opposite  to  what  was  expected.  Assume  that  a  child, 
afraid  of  certain  dreams  which  have  a  tendency  to  recur,  just 
before  falling  asleep  suggests  to  himself  that  he  will  have  a 
pleasant  dream,  such  as  that  of  success  at  play  or  the  bestowal 
of  gifts  upon  himself,  and  we  are  dealing  with  a  case  of  direct 
auto-suggestion.  The  self-imposed  mental  impression  is  in 
terms  of  what  is  positively  desired.  But  let  us  assume  that  the 
next  night  the  same  child  suggests  to  himself  that  he  will  not 
have  bad  dreams,  and  thereby  passes  in  review  the  dreaded  noc- 
turnal visitations.  This  is  an  instance  of  contrary  suggestion, 
for  he  is  holding  in  mental  focus  the  idea  of  what  he  is  trying  to 
avoid.  Since  whatever  is  in  the  mind  tends  to  express  itself,  the 
direct  auto-suggestion  is  likely  to  be  the  more  efficacious,  for  it 
introduces  into  the  mind  only  what  one  would  have  realized. 
The  contrary  suggestion  is  imperiled  by  negative  impressions. 
Nevertheless,  one  must  not  be  in  haste  to  infer  that  contrary 
auto-suggestions  are  alw^ays  failures.  But  when  they  are  effec- 
tive the  result  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  it  not  infrequently 
happens  that  the  mere  making  of  the  self-suggestion  in  the  terms 
of  the  undesirable  experience  purges  the  personality  of  the  un- 
wholesome element.  Distressing  mental  states  may  find  an 
adequate  avenue  of  expression  in  the  process  of  ideation  and 
emotion.  Should  the  contrary  suggestion  of  the  child  prove 
effective  in  warding  off  distressing  dreams,  its  success  would 
probably  be  due  to  a  detailing  of  the  dreaded  dreams,  which 
proved  to  be  a  vent.     But  on  the  whole  this  form  of  auto-sug- 


The  Point  of  View  \1 

gestion   is   in   grave   danger   of   defeating   its   own   purpose   by 
arousing  the  mental  imagery  of  what  is  to  be  avoided. 

With  reference  to  the  knowledge  or  ignorance  of  the  per- 
son as  to  the  presence  or  absence  of  auto-suggestion,  both  direct 
and  contrary  self-suggestions    may     be 
subdivided  into  intentional  and  uninten- 
Intentional  and  tional     auto-suggestions.      When    one 

Unintentional  consciously      makes      auto-suggestions, 

Auto-suggestion  fully  aware  that  he  is  applying  their 

principle  with  a  specific  end  in  view,  we 
may  speak  of  an  intentional  self-sug- 
gestion. A  case  in  point  would  be  the  conscious  use  of  auto- 
suggestion for  the  purpose  of  inducing  sleep  and  pleasant  dreams. 
But  when  a  child  who  is  blissfully  ignorant  of  the  first  principles 
of  auto-suggestion  which  he  nevertheless  applies  in  seeking  un- 
disturbed repose,  attributes  the  result  to  some  extraneous  agency, 
such  as  a  guardian  angel,  we  have  to  do  with  unintentional  auto- 
suggestion. It  is  patent  that  since  whatever  is  unconsciously 
and  unintentionally  accomplished  is  done  with  the  greatest  ease 
and  effect,  unintentional  auto-suggestion  is  the  more  efficacious. 
Note  the  vast  difference  between  unintentional  and  intentional 
imitation!  How  perfect  and  easily  accomplished  the  former; 
how  crude  and  imperfect  the  latter !  The  intentional  manipula- 
tion of  the  delicate  mechanism  of  auto-suggestion  often  results 
in  the  awkwardness  of  self-consciousness  and  in  failure.  Unin- 
tentional auto-suggestion  employs  the  unconscious  processes 
which  are  economical  in  the  expenditure  of  effort  and  yield  the 
larger  returns.  A  friend  oi  the  writer  relates  that  one  night  in  a 
room  in  a  hotel  he  was  unpleasantly  aware  of  the  need  of  ven- 
tilation. Raising  one  window  from  below  and  lowering  an- 
other from  above  to  secure  the  desired  ventilation  and  circula- 
tion, he  soon  experienced  a  decided  sense  of  exhilaration.  Re- 
freshed, he  retired  for  the  night  in  the  same  room.  In  the  morn- 
ing he  was  surprised  to  see  that  all  of  the  windows  of  the  room 
were  re-enforced  by  storm-windows,  which  admitted  hardly  a 
breath  of  fresh  air,  regardless  of  open  windows  within.  The 
distinct  refreshing  which  he  experienced  the  previous  night  must 


«A>>^b^  "^ 


18  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

be  ascribed  to  unintentional  auto-suggestion.  Imagine  the  dif- 
ficulty, but  not  at  all  the  impossibility,  of  obtaining  the  same 
reaction  under  the  same  conditions  through  intentional  effort. 

It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  auto-suggestion  and  private 

prayer  have  enough  in  common  to  make  an  intelligent  analysis 

and    comparison     possible.     Both      ex- 

T^     ^         ^  periences  are  private  and  intimate.  Both 

Factors  Common         ^ ,       ,  ,    .    •  ... 

^     .    ^  .  orten  have  their  mception  m  the  mmd 

to  Auto-suggestion        r  ,  xt  ii  .  i 

J  T^  .     ^  or  another.     JNot  unhke  a  social  sug- 

and  Private  , , .  . 

p  gestion,  a  public  prayer  may  impress  it- 

self upon  the  mind,  pass  through  a 
process  of  modification  and  issue  in  pri« 
vate  prayers.  Biases  and  prejudices,  sentiments  and  instincts, 
moods  and  feelings,  memory  and  judgment,  evoke  auto-sugges- 
tions and  private  prayers.  The  success  of  both  is  said  to  depend 
largely  upon  concentration  of  the  mind  and  faith  that  results 
will  follow.  The  time  spent  in  realizing  a  self-suggested  idea 
and  in  the  answ^ering  of  a  prayer  is  a  variable  quantity.  Like 
auto-suggestion,  prayer  may  assume  a  direct  and  positive,  or  con- 
trary and  negative  form.  Since  auto-suggestion  and  private 
prayer  have  so  many  chara<:teristic  features  in  common,  would 
it  be  unreasonable  to  expect  the  answer  to  prayer  to  be  a  sub- 
conscious phenomenon?  Does  prayer  unintentionally  appro- 
priate the  method  and  mechanism  of  suggestion  ?  Is  the  field  of 
private  prayer  co-extensive  with  that  of  suggestion?  Are  un- 
answered private  prayers  describable  in  terms  of  unsuccessful 
suggestion  ?  If  a  rigorous  analysis  and  an  impartial  comparison 
compel  an  affirmative  answer  to  these  questions,  other  and  more 
fundamental  queries  arise.  If  prayer  may  be  interpreted  in 
terms  of  suggestion,  is  the  universe  mechanical,  or  is  there  be- 
neath the  psychological  process  an  element  of  freedom  of  the 
will?  What  kind  of  a  God  is  consistent  with  such  a  descrip- 
tion of  prayer?  The  thoughtful  man  can  construct  a  spiritual 
world-view  if  permitted  to  hold  fast  to  the  existence  of  a 
benevolent  God,  the  power  of  self-direction  in  man,  which 
makes  him  morally  responsible,  and  the  practical  value  of  re- 
ligion, especially  of  prayer.     Does  a  scientific  view  of  prayer  con- 


The  Point  of  View  19 

serve  these  essentials?  To  anticipate;  an  interpretation  of 
prayer  in  terms  of  science  is  not  inconsistent  with  a  doctrine  of 
God,  free  will  and  ]the  validity  of  religion.  Although  science 
is  concerned  with  processes  as  such  and  not  with  finalities, 
nevertheless,  in  the  closing  chapter  of  this  study  we  shall  revert 
to  these  ultimate  considerations  and  view  them  in  the  light  of 
the  preceding  analysis. 

Having  made  an  introductory  and  preliminary  statement  of 
the  psychology  of  auto-suggestion,  it  yet  remains  to  point  out  the 
sources  of  material  on  private  prayer. 
Fortunately,  the  sources  are  many  and 
Sources  of  varied.      Conversations    with     persons 

Material  on  rich  in  prayer  experiences,  religious  bi- 

Prayer  ography,  treatises  on  prayer  from  both  a 

psychological  and  a  devotional  stand- 
point, contributed  valuable  data  for  the 
prosecution  of  this  study.  In  addition  to  these  various  sources 
of  information,  about  200  autobiographical  accounts  of  prayer 
experiences  were  received  in  response  to  four  questionnaires.^ 
The  majority  of  the  respondents  are  members  of  such  leading 
protestant  denominations  as  the  Methodist,  Baptist,  Presby- 
terian and  Congregational.  Both  male  and  female,  the  clergy 
and  the  laity,  are  represented.  A  serious  effort  has  been  made 
to  discriminate  between  trustv/orthy  and  unreliable  responses. 
The  accounts  from  which  important  deductions  have  been  made 
have  been  selected  from  the  responses  of  those  in  whose  introspec- 
tions there  is  good  reason  to  repose  confidence.  Many  replies, 
however,  have  served  to  illustrate  and  confirm  conclusions  drawn 
from  other  sources  and  wider  considerations.  The  comparatively 
small  number  of  reliable  responses  has  little  or  no  statistical 
value. 


^Three  of  them  were  circulated  by  three  students  of 
Professor  J.  B.  Pratt:  Messrs.  E.  B.  Hart,  H.  S.  Todd,  S.  T. 
Stanley.  The  questionnaire  sent  out  by  the  writer  appears  in 
the  appendix. 


20  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

Gathering  the  strands  of  this  discussion  together,  it  will  be 
recalled  that  an  auto-suggestion  was  defined  as  a  self-imposed 
idea  which  tends  to  realize  itself  automatically.     The  efficacy  of 

the  self-suggestion  depends  much  upon 
Summary  the  impression  made  upon  the  mind;  it 

is  essential  that  the  idea  be  ingrafted 
into  the  mind  in  order  that  it  may  grow.  In  the  one  case  the 
self -suggested  idea  arises  in  the  mind  of  another,  is  introduced 
into  the  self,  passes  through  a  series  of  elaborations,  thus  ex- 
periencing an  almost  entire  change  of  character;  in  the  other 
case  it  originates  in  the  conscious  or  subconscious  states  of  the 
self.  Faith  as  strained  expectation  or  expectant  attention,  con- 
sciously or  unconsciously  striving  in  the  direction  of  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  self-suggested  idea,  gives  point  to  the  subconscious 
processes.  The  idea  planted  in  the  mind  and  believed  in  tends 
to  grow  subconsciously,  to  express  itself  through  the  automatic 
processes  of  the  organism.  "In  short,  mental  and  motor  auto- 
matism are  the  prominent  elements  of  suggestion."^  In 
difficult  and  complex  auto-suggestion  a  period  of  rest  should 
occur,  during  which  the  hindering  tendencies  may  atrophy  and 
the  more  deeply  implanted  correct  impressions  be  free  to  mature. 
The  amount  of  time  consumed  in  subconscious  incubation  varies 
directly  with  the  difficulty  and  complexity  of  the  suggested  idea. 
It  also  varies  with  different  individuals,  for  what  may  be  complex 
or  difficult  for  some  may  be  relatively  simple  and  easy  for  others. 
In  order  that  the  subconscious  result  may  present  itself  above  the 
threshold  of  consciousness,  it  is  often  necessary  to  cease  one's 
efFort  to  realize  the  end  in  view\  Despite  its  unnumbered  possi- 
bilities the  direct  influence  of  auto-suggestion  is  limited  by  the 
immovable  boundaries  of  the  mental  life.  Its  control  over  what 
is  other  than  psychic  is  of  necessity  indirect  and  through  a  self. 
It  is  possible  to  overestimate  the  potency  of  the  organic  processes 
and  therefore  fail  to  induce  the  expected  reaction.  A  direct 
auto-suggestion  is  preferable  to  a  contrary  one,  since  the  former 
forestalls  the  danger  of  impressing  the  mind  with  what  it  is  the 

^Boris  Sidis,  The  Psychology  of  Suggestion,  p.  10. 


The  Point  of  View  21 

purpose  of  the  auto-suggestion  to  eliminate  or  avoid.  Since  un- 
intentional auto-suggestion  is  relatively  frictionless  and  artless, 
it  is  more  effective  than  intentional  self-suggestion.  The  auto- 
suggestion of  greatest  efficiency  would  doubtless  involve  an  idea 
self-imposed,  direct  and  positive  in  form,  deeply  rooted  in  the 
mind,  confidently  expected  to  mature,  falling  within  the  range 
of  personal  influence  and  subconscious  incubation,  unintention- 
ally and  unconsciously  realizing  itself  through  the  automatic 
processes,  protected  from  inhibiting  associations  by  rest-periods, 
finally  permitted  to  manifest  itself  above  the  threshold  of  con- 
sciousness as  a  subconscious  product. 


CHAPTER  II 

ATTENTION  IN  PRAYER 

In  symbols  peculiar  to  himself  Luther  once  said,  "Just  as 
a  good,  clever  barber  m.ust  have  his  eyes  and  mind  upon  the 
beard  and  razor,  so  as  to  mark  distinctly 
where    he    is    to   shave,    so    everything, 
The  Prominence  vi^hich   is   to   be   done   well,   ought   to 

of  Attention  occupy  the  whole  man,  with  all  his  fac- 

in  Prayer  ulties  and  members.     How  much  more, 

then,  should  prayer,  if  intended  to  be 
effective,  engage  the  heart  wholly  and 
without  distraction."^  All  writers  of  devotional  literature 
agree  with  Luther  that  a  vital  element  in  effective  prayer  is  the 
concentration  of  the  attention  upon  the  content  of  the  prayer. 
We  are  told  that  one  difference  between  genuine  praying  and  the 
mere  saying  of  prayers  is  attention  to,  and  interest  in,  the  act  of 
pra5'er.  In  other  words,  the  religionist  insists  that  to  be  effi- 
cacious the  prayer  must  be  impressed  upon  the  mind.  In  this 
particular  he  does  not  differ  with  the  psychologist  who  recog- 
nizes in  the  introduction  of  an  idea  into  the  mind  an  essential 
of  suggestion. 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  chapter  to  examine  factors  which  tend 
to  restrict  the  field  of  consciousness  to  the  material  of  private 
prayer.     Now  during  the  course  of  the  natural  history  of  re- 
ligion many  elements    have     appeared, 

T^,  which  tend  to  direct  the  stream  of  con- 
Elements  •          ,       ,         1      f 
TT71--  1    TT  ij  ^i_  sciousness  mto  the  channel  of  prayer. 
Which  Hold  the  r^x^        r                         ,                 / 
^            .  Ihe  reierence  is  to  such  means  or  at- 
Prayer  m  .            ,   ,    ,  ,.        , 
,,    ^  ,  T^  tracting  and  holding  the   attention  as 
Mental  Focus  ,     .    f   .        .    i     .    ,•    j     i 

the  isolation  of  the  individual,  posture 

of  the  body,  suspension  of  vision,  motor 

automatism,  fasting,  emotional  states,  prayer  repetitions,  activity 

^J.   G.    Morris,  Quaint   Sayings   and  Doings   of  Luther^ 
p.  131. 


24  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

of  the  will,  mechanical  devices.    Let  us  now  see  how  these  acces- 
sories conspire  to  implant  the  prayer  in  the  mind. 

The  very  expression  "private  prayer"  is  suggestive  of  the 
isolation  of  the  individual.     Of  the  respondents  who  answered 
the  question  contained  in  the  question- 
naire, Which  do  you    find     the     more 
Privacy  in  effective:  public  prayer  by    either     the 

Prayer  minister  or  the  congregation,  or  private 

prayer?  seventy  per  cent,  favored  pri- 
''^^ate  prayer.  John  R.  Mott  says.  "In  ai^ 
word,  secret  prayer  is  prayer  at  its  best.  It  is  prayer  most  free 
from  all  insincerity.  It  is  the  true  gauge  of  our  prayer  life."^ 
Jesus  both  taught  and  practiced  privacy  in  prayer. ^  It  is  a 
truism  that  the  isolation  of  the  individual  guards  against  dis- 
tractions. Novel  impressions,  strange  changes  in  the  environ- 
ment, and  interruptions  by  others,  tend  to  hinder  the  act  of 
prayer.  Alone  and  free  from  social  restraints,  the  person  is  at 
liberty  to  give  his  undivided  attention  to  the  unreserved  and  sin- 
cere expression  of  his  need.  In  this  way  isolation  makes  for  the 
introduction  of  the  prayer  into  the  mind. 

Having  found  the  seclusion  of  some  favored  spot,  the  per- 
son may  reverently  kneel  in  prayer.     There  seems  to  be  present 
with  many  individuals  a  desire  to  cast 
the  self  at  the  feet  of  God  in  humble 
Physical  submission.     In   response   to   the   ques- 

Posture  in  tion.  Do  you  find  that  posture,  such  as 

Prayer  kneeling,  etc.,  has  any  influence  on  your 

state  ofi  mind  in  prayer?  forty  per 
cent,  answered  affirmatively.  The  fol- 
lowing statements  imply  that  the  appreciation  of  the  incomplete- 
ness of  the  self  induces  such  a  motor  response  as  kneeling:  "It 
(kneeling)  is  a  sign  of  humility."  "Whenever  I  am  burdened 
with  cares  I  feel  an  almost  irresistible  desire  to  fall  upon  my 
knees  in  prayer."     On  the  other  hand,  kneeling  creates  a  sense 


^The  Secret  Prayer  Life,  p.  5. 
^See  Matt,  iv,  6  and  Luke,  vi,  12. 


Attention  in  Prayer  25 

of  want.  Who  has  not  been  impressed  by  the  fact  that  when- 
ever he  has  had  occasion  to  kneel,  be  the  situation  ever  so  for- 
eign to  prayer,  he  has  invariably  thought  of  prayer  and  as  a  con- 
sequence experienced  a  haunt  of  a  want?  "Kneeling  makes  one 
more  earnest  in  prayer,"  writes  a  respondent.  Kneeling  and 
praying  are  so  closely  associated  that  the  one  tends  to  induce  the 
other.  Any  bodily  attitude  which  has  become  habitual,  natur- 
ally resists  any  proposed  departure  from  its  well-established 
course.  When  any  posture,  save  the  customary  one,  is  assumed 
doubts  as  to  its  propriety  arise,  which  call  attention  to  the 
physical  attitude  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  prayer.  Bodily  pos- 
ture makes  a  definite  contribution  to  the  holding  of  the  material 
of  the  prayer  in  mental  focus.^ 

Seeking  privacy  and  bending  the  knee,  the  one  engaging  in 
prayer  may  close  or  cover  the  eyes.     The  extent  of  this  practice 
may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  in 
reply    to    the   question.     Do   you   close 
Suspending  your  eyes   in   prayer?  seventy-five  per 

the  Vision  in  cent,  of  the  respondents  answered  in  the 

Prayer  affirmative.     The     following      typical 

reasons  for  doing  so  seem  commonplace : 
"The  closing  of  the    eyes     shuts     out 
distracting  sights."  "To  concentrate  my  thoughts."     It  is  self- 
evident  that  an  interesting  environment  might  furnish  impres- 

^The  following  is  a  specimen  of  the  various  and  un- 
comfortable postures  assumed  by  the  members  of  the  Yoga  cult 
of  India:  "The  right  foot  should  be  placed  on  the  left  thigh, 
and  the  left  foot  on  the  right  thigh ;  the  hands  should  be  crossed, 
and  the  two  great  toes  should  be  firmly  held  thereby;  the  chin 
should  be  bent  down  on  the  chest,  and  in  this  posture  the  eyes 
should  be  directed  to  the  tip  of  the  nose."  (F.  Max  Mueller, 
Six  Systems  of  Indian  Philosophy,  p.  457.)  This  posture  is  called 
Padmasana,  lotus-seat,  and  is  highly  recommended  as  a  cure  for 
all  diseases.  The  student  of  hypnotism  can  readily  understand 
how  such  a  position  combined  with  restraints  of  breathing  pro- 
duces such  a  state  of  abstraction  that  the  person  is  rendered  in- 
different to  pain  and  pleasure,  hunger  and  thirst,  cold  and  heat. 
It  represents  an  extreme  m.ethod  of  forcing  upon  consciousness 
an  impression  to  be  realized. 


26  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

sions  novel  enough  to  attract  the  attention.  But  even  in  a  mo- 
notonous environment  suspension  of  vision  helps  to  focus  the 
attention  on  prayer.  An  object  in  motion  attracts  the  attention 
most  readily  in  a  monotonous  environment.  During  the  evolu- 
tion of  organic  life  a  moving  stimulus  suggested  either  well- 
being  or  danger,  and  a  corresponding  reaction  on  the  part  of 
man  or  animal  resulted.  Even  to-day  a  horse  will  react  to  a 
flying  sheet  of  paper.  Perhaps  it  is  a  heritage  from  the  past 
when  every  moving  object  was  regarded  with  concern,  that 
makes  us  sensitive  to  stimuli  in  motion.^  Although  we  fail 
to  note  the  other  familiar  distractions  of  the  street,  how^  quickly 
we  attend  to  an  advertisement  consisting  of  electric  lights  which 
come  and  go.  Another  case  in  point  is  the  large  opening  and 
closing  mechanical  eye  in  the  oculist's  window.  When  we  wish 
to  attract  the  attention  of  another  at  a  distance  we  re-enforce 
our  vocal  efForts  with  suggestive  motions  of  the  arms.  In  a 
somewhat  analogous  manner  a  moving  object  in  an  environment 
ever  so  familiar  or  monotonous  may  drain  off  to  itself  the  atten- 
tion which  under  the  condition  of  closed  or  covered  eyes  might 
have  been  paid  to  prayer. 

When  the  person  is  engaged  in  the  act  of  prayer  a  variety 
of  physical  activities  appear,  of  which  he  is  unconscious  or  but 
vaguely  conscious.     The  reference  is  to  such  motor  accompani- 
ments of  prayer  as    the     swaying     or 
twisting  of  the  body,   the  clasping  or 
Automatism  clenching  of  the  hands,  the  scratching 

in  Prayer  of  the  head  or  the  pulling  of  the  hair, 

the  closing  or  the  rolling  of  the  eyes, 
wrinkling  of  the  forehead  and  the  dis- 
torting of  the  face,  and  the  moving  of  |:he  lips,  jaw,  tongue, 
head.  Such  motor  phenomena  are  often  called  automatism. 
E,  H.  Lindley  detects  as  many  as  136  distinct  automatism  in 
such  kinds  of  mental  effort  as  serious  study,  attention  and  diffi- 
cult recollection.  Their  function  is  two-fold.  In  the  first 
place,  "they  are  accessory  to  the  mechanism  of  attention.     In 

iW.  B.  Pillsbury,  Attention,  p.  50. 


Attention  in  Prayer  27 

order  that  mental  activity  may  be  brought  to  its  maximum,  and 
kept  there  during  a  period  of  work,  the  circulation  of  the  brain 
must  be  rendered  adequate,  and  the  latent  energy  of  the  nerve- 
cells  must  be  aroused.  To  aid  in  accomplishing  this,  many 
movements  have  appeared  in  the  race  and  in  the  individual. 
Their  sole  raison  d'  etre  seems  to  be  that  they  facilitate  the  work 
of  the  brain. "^  In  the  second  place,  it  is  also  a  function  of 
the  automatism  to  furnish  an  outlet  for  any  irrelevant  impres- 
sions which  may  be  inviting  the  attention.  Impressions  foreign 
to  the  work  of  the  moment  may  be  discharged  through  the  chan- 
nels opened  by  the  automatism.  ^'Now  the  automatism  at  first 
aid  in  increasing  cerebral  excitation.  Under  the  favorable  con- 
dition, or  concomitant  with  it,  the  state  of  attention  waxes  in 
intensity.  When  it  reaches  its  height  the  blocking  or  inhibitory 
process  may  act  to  shut  out  excitatory  currents  of  the  moment. 
Then  the  nerve  paths  of  the  automatism  become  the  channel  for 
the  drafting  off  of  all  currents  which  are  excluded  from  the 
brain  during  attention."^  Evidently  the  automatism  accom- 
panying prayer  have  both  a  stimulating  and  a  conserving  effect. 
Heightening  the  circulation  of  the  brain,  thus  setting  free  latent 
nervous  energy,  they  are  instrumental  in  generating  vitality  for 
the  deepening  of  the  prayer  experience.  Supporting  the  mech- 
anism of  attention,  they  help  to  impose  the  prayer  upon  the  mind. 
Then  they  tend  to  conserve  the  energy  which  they  have  released. 
Extraneous  impressions  which  tempt  the  attention,  following  the 
line  of  least  resistance,  find  expression  through  the  avenues 
opened  by  the  automatic  movements.  We  shall  have  occasion 
to  make  further  reference  to  this  unique  mental  process  when  we 
consider  the  repetition  of  prayer  and  the  rosary. 


^E.    H.    Lindley,   Motor   Phenomena   of   Mental   Effort, 

Amer.  Jour.  Psych.,  Vol.  vii,  p.  512. 
Hbid,  p.  512. 


28  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

The  isolation  of  the  person,  the  suspension  of  vision,  the 
physical  attitude,  and  the  automatic  movements  may  accom- 
pany fasting  as  an  expression  of  religious  concern.  In  its  ex- 
treme form  fasting  tends  to  induce  ec- 
stasy. "Fasting  in  excess  is  a  well- 
Excessive  recognized  means  of  producing  hallu- 
Fasting  cinations,  and  if  undertaken  in  connec- 
in  Prayer  tion  with  religious  service  must  tend 
*  *  *  to  produce  voices  and  visions  re- 
lating to  our  ethical  life  *  *  *  but 
quite  apart  from  such  excesses,  fasting  in  moderation  would  tend 
to  produce  states  of  mind  allied  to  those  produced  during  hallu- 
cination :  and  furthermore,  reducing  as  it  does  the  vitality  suffici- 
ently to  overcome  any  natural  demand  for  spontaneous  activities, 
it  rriust  clearly  aid  one  very  materially  to  gain  that  racial  inspira- 
tion which  most  easily  arises  when  reactions  of  individualistic 
significance  are  not  called  for."^  It  is  noteworthy  that  the 
higher  centers  of  the  mental  life  are  the  last  to  succumb  to  star- 
vation. "In  the  face  of  death  by  starvation,  the  most  typical  of 
all  forms  of  death,  it  has  been  abundantly  demonstrated  that 
while  all  the  other  organs  of  the  body  gradually  atrophy,  the 
heart  and  the  kidneys,  and  more  especially  the  brain,  remain  ex- 
empt."^ Although  excessive  fasting  lowers  the  vitality  of 
most  of  the  organs,  the  brain  seems  to  receive  the  support  of  the 
heart  up  to  the  last  beat,  and  hence  the  higher  mental  processes 
are  the  last  to  give  way  to  disintegration.  In  fact,  there  is  evi- 
dence that  in  certain  respects  the  mind  is  particularly  active  and 
productive  during  a  prolonged  fast.  Upton  Sinclair,  a  popular 
author,  maintains  that  some  of  his  best  literary  work  has  been 
done  during  a  fast.  It  goes  without  saying  that  a  period  of 
fasting,  having  a  religious  significance,  is  a  means  of  lodging 
prayers  into  the  mind,  prayers  answered  in  terms  of  visions  and 
voices. 


^H.  R.  Marshall,  Instinct  and  Reason,  p  269. 
-C.  A.   Scott,   Old  Age  and  Death,  Amer.  Jour.  Psych., 
Vol.  viii,  p.  78. 


Attention  in  Prayer  29 

It  is  the  practice  of  many  individuals  to  fast  moderately, 
to  abstain  from  food  wholly  or  in  part  for  a  few  days  or  even 
for  one  day.  Aside  from  the  tendency  to  create  mental  states 
akin  to  those  produced  in  more  exaggerated  forms  during  longer 
periods  of  fasting,  the  total  or  partial  abstinence  from  food  for  a 
shorter  time  tends  to  have  a  disciplinary  and  conserving  effect. 
Moderate,  or  excessive,  fasting  is  a 
mental  discipline  which  constructs  a 
Moderate  competent   personality.     To    hold     in 

Fasting  check  the  craving  for  food  is  an  aid  in 

bringing  under  subjection  thoughts 
prone  to  wander  from  the  prayer.  Who 
has  not  by  an  act  of  the  will  turned  his  attention  away  from  the 
many  distractions  of  travel  by  rail  and  focused  it  upon  his  book 
in  the  reading  of  which  he  was  soon  absorbed  ?  The  voluntary 
overcoming  of  the  capricious  wandering  of  the  attention  imparts 
to  the  faculties  such  a  powerful  stimulus  that  an  overplus  of 
energy  is  set  free  for  the  task  in  hand.  In  like  manner  he  who 
overcomes  the  temptation  to  gratify  the  desire  for  food  releases  a 
generous  amount  of  energy  which  may  be  devoted  to  the  prayer 
life.  Furthermore,  in  too  many  instances  superfluous  nutrition 
makes  a  tremendous  draught  upon  the  life-forces  of  the  human 
organism.  "Probably  from  four  to  six  times  as  much  food  is 
eaten  as  the  body  actually  requires,  and  this  great  amount  of 
excess  must  be  disposed  of  at  the  expense  of  the  vital  pow- 
ers."^ Living  to  eat,  many  persons  expend  their  powers  in 
vegetating,  while  those  who  eat  to  live  may  direct  into  other  -Anri 
more  useful  channels  the  energy  wasted  by  others.  Moderate 
fasting,  springing  from  a  religious  motive,  may  expend  energy 
in  fixing  a  prayer  in  mind,  which  effort  might  otherwise  have 
been  devoted  to  useless  nutritive  processes.  X 


^H.  Carrington,  Vitality,  Fasting  and  Nutrition,  p.  112. 


30  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

It  would  be  passing  strange  if  an  individual  could  with- 
draw from  the  presence  of  others,  reverently    kneel,     close     or 
cover  the  eyes,  make  many  automatic 
movements,  even  fast  and  pray,  without 
Emotion  experiencing  both  pleasant  and  unpleas- 

in  Prayer  ant  emotions.     There  are  doubtless  oc- 

casions when  the  will  rather  than  tiie 
emotions  controls  the  prayer  experience, 
but  in  general  it  is  the  emotions  which  prompt  the  prayer.  Situa- 
tions or  predicaments  which  evoke  such  emotions  as  fear,  love, 
doubt,  anxiety,  exaltation,  guilt,  gratitude,  etc.,  are  pregnant 
with  prayer  possibilities.  The  whole  personality  dances  to  the 
tune  of  such  an  overmastering  and  primitive  emotion  as  fear. 
J.  H.  Leuba  cites  the  case  of  a  Mrs.  X:  "I  do  not  think  I 
bothered  with  God  when  I  was  a  child  except  when  I  was 
frightened.  Usually  I  did  not  care  a  button  for  him.  Only 
when  I  got  into  a  plight  I  would  cling  with  the  completest  faith 
to  what  I  had  been  taught  about  God's  power  and  his  readiness 
to  answer  our  prayers."^  Devotional  literature  encourages 
prayer  in  critical  situations.  "And  call  upon  me  in  the  day  of 
trouble:  I  will  deliver  thee,  and  thou  shalt  glorify  me,"^  is 
the  exhortation  of  the  psalmist.  The  value  of  the  emotional 
states  for  the  prayer  life  is  admirably  set  forth  in  the  following 
quotation  taken  from  a  devotional  study:  "Prayer  should  spring 
up  spontaneously  from  an  emotive  state.  Christians,  whose  lives, 
in  other  respects,  are  not  visibly  defective  *  *  *  have  no  deep 
subsoil  of  feeling  from  which  prayer  would  be  a  natural  growth. 
Our  theory  of  the  Christian  life  is  that  of  a  clear,  erect,  inflexible 
head,  not  that  of  a  great  heart  in  which  deep  calleth  unto 
deep."^  Emotions  tend  to  narrow  the  field  of  conscious- 
ness. Other  impressions  are  ignored  when  an  intense  emotion 
dominates  the  personality.  It  is  common  for  a  lover  to  be  so 
possessed  of  his  passion  that  other  important  matters  are  neg- 

'^Fear  and  Awe   in   Religion,  Amer.   Jour.   Psych.,   Vol., 

ii,  p.9. 
^Psalm,  L,  15. 
«A.  Phelps,  The  Still  Hour,  p.  58. 


Attention  in  Prayer  31 

lected.  When  the  emotion  is  of  religious  interest,  it  tends  to 
introduce  prayers  into  the  mind.  From  this  point  of  view  emo- 
tions provoke  prayer,  but  it  is  also  true  that  in  many  cases 
prayer  arouses  the  emotions.  In  the  following  discussion  of  the 
oral  repetition  of  prayer  the  part  which  prayer  plays  in  evoking 
emotional  states  will  receive  attention. 

Given  an  initial  sense  of  incompleteness  sufficient  to  attract 
the  attention,  a  prayer,  instead  of  wearing  itself  out,  becomes 
an  increasingly  intensified  experience  through  oral  repetition. 
Without  presuming  to  give  a  complete  description  of  this  unique 
phenomenon,  we  may,  however,  take  notice  of  some  of  its  in- 
teresting phases.  To  begin  with,  the  oral  expression  itself  is  a 
means  of  holding  the  attention.  St. 
Teresa  said  that  the  first  step  in  a  grad- 
The  Oral  uated  series  of  religious  exercises  ending 

Repetition  in    ecstasy   was    the    articulation    of    a 

of  Prayer  prayer.     Ribot  maintains  that  the  oral 

expression  of  the  prayer  leads  "the  dis- 
persed consciousness  into  a  single  con- 
fined channel."^  Experience  shows  that  the  habit  of  reading  not 
merely  with  the  ej^e,  but  of  articulating  the  words  seen  deepens 
the  attention  to  the  contents  of  the  printed  pages.  Speech  is  the 
organ  of  reason.  A  spoken  dream  is  likely  to  be  more  connected 
than  the  one  not  articulated.  It  is  conceivable  that  in  the  case 
of  those  whose  mental  imagery  is  of  the  motor  and  auditory  type 
there  is  a  tendency  to  clothe  a  prayer  in  words  as  soon  as  it 
arises  in  consciousness.  In  such  instances  failure  to  give  oral 
expression  to  the  prayer  would  nullify  the  experience,  and  the 
attention  would  wander  elsewhere. 

Lest  the  stream  of  consciousness  be  turned  into  a  different 
channel  during  a  series  of  reiterations,  the  prayer  as  the  object 


'^Phychology  of  Attention,  p.  92. 


32  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

of  attention  must  be  considered  from  many  points  of  view. 
"The  conditio  sine  qua  non  of  sustained 
attention  to  a  given  topic  of  thought  is 

-,  .  ,.         ,  that  we  should  roll  it  over  and  over  in- 

A  ^^     ^-       r«v          ,  cessantly  and  consider  different  aspects 
Attention  Through  ,      ,    .  ,  .    .  ,„     ^^     , 
^,            .     T^  .   ^  and  relations  of  it  in  turn.  ^     Doubt- 
Change  in  Point  111           r           .    .        , 
-  --.  less  the  laws  of   association   determine 

the  angles  from  which  the  aching  void 
evoking  a  prayer  is  considered,  for  one 
phase  of  a  subject  naturally  suggests 
another.  As  the  attention  flits  from  one  aspect  of  the  prayer 
to  another,  the  emotions  are  aroused.  "One  may  get  angrier  in 
thinking  over  one's  insult  than  at  the  moment  of  receiving 
it."^  Viewing  the  insult  from  various  sides  may  reveal  the 
true  character  of  the  offense  and  arouse  a  tumult  of  emotions. 
So  with  each  consideration  of  the  incomplete  self  from  a  fresh 
standpoint  the  prayer  experience  waxes  in  emotional  intensity. 
In  this  way  the  prayer  repetition,  begun  with  but  a  feeble  emo- 
tional accompaniment,  begets  a  rich  emotional  experience.  We 
have  seen  that  emotional  states  attract  and  hold  the  attention. 
In  fact,  Ribot  insists  that  "at  the  root  of  attention  we  find  only 
emotional  states."^ 

The  automatic  movements  of  the  head,  hands,  body,  etc., 
which,  as  we  have  already  seen,  are  accessory  to  the  mechanism 
of  the  attention,  play  an  important  part  in  making  the  reiteration 
of  prayer  a  success.     It  may  be  of  in- 
terest to  examine  the     almost     uncon- 
Automatism  in  scious  activity  of  the  vocal  motor  ap- 

Prayer  paratus   as   a   type   of   automatic   phe- 

Repetition  nomena.     Its  mere  exercise  sets  free  an 

increasing  amount  of  energy  until  fa- 
tigue manifests  itself.     When  stimulat- 
ed by  a  series  of  slight  electric  shocks,  the  leg  of  a  decapitated  frog 
passes  through  a  succession  of  contractions  increasing  in  ampli- 

^James,  Briefer  Course,  p.  236. 

^ James,  Principles  of  Psychology,  Vol.  ii,  p.  443. 

^Psychology  of  Attention,  p.  35. 


Attention  in  Prayer  33 

tude.  The  reaction  of  the  frog's  leg  to  the  electrical  stimulus 
is  due  to  the  release  of  energy  through  neural  action.  Activity 
increases  irritability.  "The  finely  adjusted  activities  of  the  nerve- 
cells  vi^hich  control  the  muscles  reach  their  perfection  only  after 
repeated  action."^  So  long  as  the  contractions  increase  in  ampli- 
tude anabolism  more  than  just  compensates  for  katabolism.  So 
the  activity  of  the  organ  of  speech  liberates  an  increasing  amount 
of  vitality  until  fatigue  aserts  itself.  In  addition  to  this,  there  is 
a  quickening  of  the  processes  of  respiration  and  circulation.  This 
additional  factor  is,  of  course,  absent  in  the  case  of  the  dead  frog 
whose  leg  responds  to  the  electrical  stimulus.  The  almost  uncon- 
scious exercise  of  the  vocal  motor  apparatus  is  a  warming-up  pro- 
cess, like  that  employed  by  athletes  and  race  horses,  which 
arouses  the  latent  energy  of  the  nerve-cells  and  increases  the 
afflux  of  blood  to  the  brain,  and  thus  generates  power  to  force 
the  prayer  upon  the  mind.  The  further  activity  of  the  mech- 
anism of  speech  provides  a  way  of  escape  for  irrelevant  impres- 
sions. Such  a  description  of  the  result  of  the  exercise  of  the 
vocal  organs  may  seem  rather  trivial  and  far-fetched,  when  one 
does  not  consider  that  each  of  a  hundred  or  more  automatic 
movments  is  making  its  contribution  to  the  prayer  experience. 

The  law  of  inertia  in  attention  is  an  important  factor  in 
the  continued  oral  expression  of  prayer.     But  before  this  law 
can  be  appreciated,  the  law  of  accommodation,  upon  which  it 
depends,  must  be  understood.    The  law 
of  accommodation  may  be  illustrated  in 
The  Law  of  the  following  way :   Looking  across  the 

Inertia  in  Prayer  room  at  the  clock,  "to  see  the  position 

Repetition  of  the  hands,  I  must  wait  for  the  'ac- 

commodation' of  attention,  i.  e.  for  the 
adjustment  of  the  mechanism  of  visual 
accommodation."^    What  is  hardly  noticed  at  first  sight  may  be 
more  clearly  seen  as  the  visual  experience  continues  and  a  more 

^W.    H.    Howell,    American    Text-book    on    Psychology, 

p.  112. 
^E.   B.  Titchener,  Psychology   of  Feeling  and  Attention, 

p.  244. 


34  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

perfect  adjustment  of  the  visual  mechanism  to  the  stimulus  is 
made.  The  same  law  Is  operative  in  attention  to  ideas.  James  ex- 
perienced the  following  adjustment  in  attending  to  an  ideational 
stimulus:  "In  myself  the  'backward  retraction'  which  is  felt 
during  attention  to  ideas  of  memory,  etc.,  seems  principally 
constituted  by  the  feeling  of  an  actual  rolling  outwards  and  up- 
wards of  the  eyeballs,  such  as  occurs  in  sleep,  and  Is  the  exact 
opposite  of  their  behavior  when  we  look  at  a  physical  thlng."^ 
Now  when  once  the  mechanism  Is  adjusted  It  offers  a  certain 
resistance  to  an  impression  calling  for  a  fresh  adjustment. 
Change  of  occupation  means  a  corresponding  adjustment  of  the 
mechanism  to  be  employed.  For  that  reason  a  diligent  student 
may  find  himself  loathe  to  interrupt  his  studies  In  order  to  re- 
plenish the  fire  with  fuel.  The  resistance  of  the  adjusted 
mechanism  is  known  as  the  law  of  Inertia.  When  the  accom- 
modation of  the  attention  has  taken  place  in  prayer,  the  person, 
following  the  line  of  least  resistance,  may  feel  a  tendency  to  re- 
peat the  prayer  rather  than  to  discontinue  it  and  do  something 
else.  To  turn  the  attention  to  another  thing  would  necessitate 
the  overcoming  of  the  resistance  offered  by  the  mechanism  ad- 
justed to  prayer. 

The  turning  of  the  attention  into  a  single  definite  channel 
opened  by  articulation,  the  continuous  change  in  point  of  view 
making  for  the  holding  of  the  attention  and  the  arousing  of  the 
emotions,  the  making  of  automatic  movements  releasing  and 
conserving  energy,  the  warding  off  df 
foreign  impressions  by  the  adjusted 
The  Cumulative  mechanism, — the  cumulative   effect  of 

Effect  all  of  these  factors  is  very  significant  for 

the  reiteration  of  the  prayer  and  its  im- 
pression upon  the  mind.     Like  the  lit- 
tle snow-ball  rolling  down  the  mountainside  and  gathering  vol- 
ume and  force  until  it  becomes  a  mighty  avalanche,  the  prayer 
born  of  an  appreciation  of  incompleteness  and  repeating  itself 


^Briefer  Course,  p.  230. 


Attention  in  Prayer  35 

becomes  an  experience  so  intense  that  all  competitors  for  the 
attention  are  driven  from  the  field. 

The  wide-spread  habit  of  praying  at  night  before  retiring 
is  in  accord  with  the  best  method  of  introducing  an  idea  into 
the  mind.     The  person  is  most  suggestible  when  he  feels  in- 
clined to  sleep.     When  one  is  drowsy 
and  ready  to  retire,  the  mind  is  uncriti- 
Prayer  at  cal  and  does  not  exercise  its  corrective 

Night  powers;  hence  at  this  time  the  prayer 

glides  into  the  mind  without  encounter- 
ing the  opposition  which  might  have 
been  met  during  the  d^y.  Apart  from  the  ease  with  which  an 
impression  is  made  upon  the  subconscious  at  bed-time,  the  privacy 
of  one's  room,  the  opportunity  to  assume  the  habitual  devotional 
posture,  and  to  continue  the  prayer  at  will,  are  elements  which 
help  to  hold  the  prayer  in  mental  focus. 

It  sometimes  requires  the  exercise  of  the  will  to  concen- 
trate the  mind  on  prayer.     Concerning  wandering  thoughts  and 
how  to  recall  them.  Brother  Lawrence 
has  the  following  to  say:     "Our  mind 
The  Will  is  extremely  roving;  but,  as  the  will  is 

in  Prayer  the  mistress  of   all   our   faculties,   she 

must  recall  them,  and  carry  them  to 
God  as  their  last  end.  When  the 
mind,  for  want  of  being  sufficiently  reduced  by  recollection  at 
our  first  engaging  in  devotion,  has  contracted  certain  bad  habits 
of  wandering  and  dissipation,  they  are  difficult  to  overcome,  and 
commonly  draw  us,  even  against  our  wills,  to  the  things  of  the 
earth.  I  believe  one  remedy  for  this  is  to  confess  our  faults  and 
to  humble  ourselves  before  God.  I  do  not  advise  you  to  use 
multiplicity  of  words  in  prayer,  many  words  and  long  discourses 
being  often  the  occasions  of  wandering.  Hold  yourself  in 
prayer  before  God  like  a  dumb  or  paralytic  beggar  at  a  rich 
man's  gate.  Let  it  be  your  business  to  keep  your  mind  in  the 
presence  of  the  Lord.  If  it  sometimes  wander  and  withdraw 
itself    from    Him,    do    not    much    disquiet    yourself    for    that: 


36  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

trouble  and  disquiet  serve  rather  to  distract  the  mind  than  to 
recollect  it;  the  will  must  bring  it  back  to  tranquilty."^ 

The  most  unique  mechanical  device  intended  to  increase 
the  effectiveness  of  the  prayer  life  is    doubtless     the     rosary. 
E.   B.  Tylor  says,  "The  devotional  calculating-machine  is  of 
Asiatic  invention ;  it  had,    if     not     its 
origin,  at  least  its  special  development 
The  History  among  the  ancient  Buddhists,  and   its 

of  the  Rosary  108  balls  still  glide  through  the  mod- 

ern Buddists  hands  as  of  old,  measuring 
out  the  sacred  formulas  whose  reitera- 
tion occupies  so  large  a  fraction  of  a  pious  life.  It  was  not  till 
toward  the  middle  ages  that  the  rosary  passed  into  Moham- 
medan and  Christian  lands,  and  finding  there  conceptions  of 
prayer  which  it  was  suited  to  accompany,  has  flourished  ever 
since."^  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  affirmed  on  Catholic 
authority  that  in  the  period  of  religious  indifference  which  ob- 
tained in  France  during  the  thirteenth  century,  the  Virgin  per- 
sonally appeared  to  St.  Dominic,  a  Spaniard,  with  a  rosary  in 
her  hand.  She  instructed  him  in  the  use  of  the  rosary  and 
enjoined  upon  him  the  mission  of  preaching  it  as  a  means  of 
spiritual  regeneration.  Arriving  at  Toulouse  for  the  purpose  of 
proclaiming  the  new  devotion,  he  found  that  in  response  to  a 
mysterious  summons  the  people  had  already  assembled  in  the 
church.  At  first  his  preachment  of  the  rosary  fell  upon  un- 
heeding ears,  but  when  a  violent  storm  arose  and  the  lightning 
flashed  and  the  thunder  crashed,  and  the  statue  of  the  Virgin 
began  to  move,  even  pointing  to  heaven  and  to  the  preacher,  the 
obdurate  people  were  touched,  and,  casting  themselves  at  the 
feet  of  St.  Dominic,  announced  their  acceptance  of  the  rosary. 
It  is  claimed  that  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  deluded 
Frenchmen  returned  to  the  Catholic  Church  as  a  result  of  the 
conquest  of  the  rosary.     The  faithful  followers  of  St.  Dominic 


^The  Practice  of  the  Presence  of  God,  p.  35. 
^Primitive  Culture,  Vol.  ii,  p.  372. 


Attention  in  Prayer  37 

carried  the  rosary  into  the  rest  of  the  countries  of  Europe  and  it 
was  quite  generally  adopted. 

The  use  of  the  Catholic  rosary  consists  in  the  union  of 
vocal  and  mental  devotional  exercises.     Fifteen  decades  of  Hail 
Marys  are  orally  recited,  each  decade, 
or  group  of  ten,  being  preceded  by  a 
The  Use  of  the  Pater  Noster  and  followed  by  a  Gloria. 

Catholic  Rosary  Five  decades  constitute  a  chaplet.    Dur- 

ing the  recitation  of  each  chaplet  five 
"mysteries"  from  the  life  of  Jesus  and 
Mary  are  meditated.  There  are  three  groups  of  "mysteries"  of 
five  each:  the  Joyful  Mysteries,  the  Sorrowful  Mysteries,  the 
Glorious  Mysteries.  The  Annunciation,  the  Visitation,  the 
Birth,  the  Presentation,  the  Finding  in  the  Temple,  compose 
the  first  group,  and  are  called  the  Joyful  Mysteries;  the  Agony 
in  the  Garden,  the  Scourging,  the  Crowning  with  Thorns,  the 
Carrying  of  the  Cross,  the  Crucifixion,  are  called  the  Sorrowful 
Mysteries;  the  Resurrection,  the  Ascension,  the  Coming  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  the  Assumption,  the  Coronation  of  the  Virgin,  are 
known  as  the  Glorious  Mysteries.  In  connection  with  the 
vocalization  of  the  Pater  Noster,  ten  Hail  Marys  and  a  Gloria, 
the  meditation  of  a  "mystery"  is  undertaken.  Consider  the 
Scourging  at  the  Pillar.  While  the  automatic  oral  repetition  is 
taking  place,  "the  memory  presents  a  large  hall  full  of  rude  sol- 
diers, who  drag  in  a  poor  prisoner,  pull  off  His  garments,  bind 
Him  to  a  pillar  and  there  tear  off  the  flesh  from  His  bones  until 
His  body  is  all  raw  and  covered  with  wounds  and  His  blood 
streaming  over  the  floor.  Next  the  understanding  considers 
who  this  prisoner  is:  the  adorable  Son  of  the  Most  High  God, 
•the  Lord  and  Giver  of  Life.  And  why  does  He  suffer?  For 
miserable  sinners:  for  us  ungrateful  men:  for  those  who  are 
scourging  Him.  Now  the  will  is  influenced  to  make  acts  of 
compassion,  love,  adoration,  thanksgiving,  petition,  etc."^ 
The  Roman  Catholic  Church  grants  indulgences  to  those  who 
are  faithful  in  the  use  of  the  rosary. 

^Dominican  Father,  The  Rosary,  p.  41. 


38  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

The  rosary  tends  to  create  a  divided  self  in  order  that  a 
higher  unity  may  be  attained.     Like  all  motor  phenomena  of 
mental  effort,  the  automatic  recitation  of  the  rosary  arouses  the 
mind   and   provides   an  outlet   for   dis- 
tracting impressions.     Furthermore,  the 

Tit-     -nt-     t_   1      •     t       oral  prayers  of  the  rosary  are  gentle  re- 

The  Phychological  •/        r  .,         r  •        ir       o^u 

TT  1         f  ^t_  mmders  or  the  religious  life.      Ihe  as- 

Value  of  the  ,  ,    , 

_  sociations  clustered  about    the     prayers 

Rosary  ,       ,  ,  , 

are  oi  such  an  intimate  and  sacred  na- 
ture that  the  suppliant  cannot  but  re- 
spond to  their  subtle  influence.  The 
result  w^ould  be  by  no  means  the  same  if  the  alphabet,  a  part  of 
the  multiplication  table,  and  a  mother-goose  rhyme  were  substi- 
tuted for  the  Pater  Nosters,  the  Aves,  and  the  Glorias.  Such  a 
meaningless  substitution  would  rob  the  exercise  of  its  appro- 
priate suggestiveness.  The  incongruity  of  attempting  to  medi- 
tate a  "mystery"  to  such  an  unsuitable  accompaniment  w^ould 
make  the  exercise  difficult,  if  not  impossible.  The  contempla- 
tion of  the  "mysteries"  gives  rise  to  mental  pictures  out  of  which 
there  is  a  tendency  to  construct  prayers.  In  a  word,  the  rosary, 
when  properly  employed,  is  an  admirable  device  for  attracting 
and  holding  the  attention  to  the  prayer  life.  The  misuse  of  the 
rosary  will  be  discussed  under  the  head  of  "vain  repetitions." 

It  must  be  clear  to  the  reader  that  religion  utilizes  many 
accessories  of  attention  in  order  to  introduce  a  prayer  into  the 
mind.     A  summary  of  the  elements  discussed  may  suggest  the 
cumulative  effect  of   the  same  on   the 
prayer  life.     The  isolation  of  the  indi- 
Summary  vidual   offers   a  possibility  of   uninter- 

rupted and  unrestricted  self-expression. 
Posture  in  prayer,  such  as  kneeling,  is 
an  outward  sign  of  reverence,  and  is  the  natural  attitude  of  a 
suppliant.  The  reflex  action  of  posture  on  prayer  is  marked. 
The  closing  or  covering  of  the  eyes  during  prayer  excludes  se- 
ductive sights.  The  automatic  movements  accompanying  pray- 
er increase  the  flow  of  blood  to  the  brain,  thus  freeing  energy, 
and   distracting  impressions  are  discharged   through   the   func- 


Attention  in  Prayer  39 

tional  paths  opened  by  the  automatism.  Excessive  fasting,  un- 
dertaken as  a  religious  exercise,  induces  ecstasy:  in  its  moderate 
forms  it  is  a  mental  stimulus,  devotes  to  higher  ends  the  energy 
otherw^ise  expended  in  superfluous  nutritive  processes,  and 
arouses  mental  states  akin  to,  but  less  intense  than,  those  of 
ecstasy.  As  a  rule  prayer  has  its  genesis  in  an  emotive  state. 
The  oral  repetition  of  a  prayer,  springing  from  a  real  religious 
concern,  directs  the  stream  of  consciousness  into  a  single  defi- 
nite channel,  heightens  the  processes  of  circulation  and  respira- 
tion, evokes  emotional  states,  and  tends  to  continue  itself  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  law^  of  inertia.  It  is  the  custom  of  many  to 
pray  at  bed-time  w^hen  the  mind  is  susceptible  to  auto-suggestions. 
While  emotions  generally  prompt  prayer,  it  sometimes  occurs 
that  voluntary  attention  restricts  the  field  of  consciousness  to 
the  act  of  prayer.  The  rosary  is  a  mechanical  device  arousing 
mental  images  w^hich  in  turn  give  rise  to  prayer.  All  of  these 
accesories  of  religion,  and  many  more  w^hich  doubtless  have 
occurred  to  the  reader,  tend  to  hold  in  mental  focus  the  idea  for 
the  realization  of  w^hich  the  prayer  is  made.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  private  prayer  meets  the  first  indispensable  condition 
of  auto-suggestion, — an  idea  imposed  upon  the  mind  by  the  self. 


CHAPTER  III 

FAITH  IN  PRAYER 

Professor  Muensterberg  has  well  said  that  suggestion  is 
more  than  the  turning  of  the  attention  to  one  idea  and  away 
from  another,  that  it  is  characterized  by  belief.^  Among  the  au- 
thorities on  suggestion  there  is  no  dis- 
sent from  the  opinion  that  a  fundamen- 

—  ..    ^  .  ,  tal  requirement  of  effective  suggestion 

Faith  Essential  ,.    ,  ,  r   , 

.     ^  ^.  IS  a  lively  conviction  on  the  part  or  the 

in  Suggestion  .    ,•  -i     i    ,        ,      .,      ,   i,  • 

J  .     p  individual  that  the  idea  held  in  mind 

will  be  realized.  Now  prayer  also  is 
more  than  the  mere  turning  of  the  at- 
tention to  one  idea  and  away  from  an- 
other, it  too  is  characterized  by  belief.  Nothing  could  be  more 
indisputable  than  that  faith  looms  up  large  in  the  answering  of 
prayer.  On  the  one  hand,  the  psychologist  is  certain  that  a 
self-suggested  idea  depends  largely  upon  faith  for  its  realization, 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  religionist  asserts  in  no  uncertain 
terms  that  without  faith  there  can  be  no  answer  to  prayer.  In 
both  suggestion  and  prayer  a  fact  cannot  come  unless  a  prelimi- 
nary faith  in  its  coming  is  exercised.^ 

Faith  in  prayer  is  practically  universal.     A  few  systems  of 

rdiginn,  JLi^e^Shin^to^aadwEuddhism,  originally  tried  toaispensc 

with  P|rayer^  but  failed  fuUyjto  repress  the  unconquerable  instinct.^ 

According  to  the  letter  of  the  tenets  of 

Shinto  the  prayers  of  the  Mikado  of 

,-,,      ,T   •  i«^  Japan   suffice   for   all   of   its   devotees, 

The  Universahty        I       x_  j-ii.         ri. 

-  T^  .  .   .  "^  but  thousands  visit  the  shrines  or  this 

of  Faith  in  ,         i  .  r         r  i       rr 

p  cult,  deposit  a  giit  or  money,  and  otter 

prayers.  Buddhism  also  has  made  con- 
cessions to  prayer.  Buddhism  in  its 
purest  form  seeks  to  rid  the  self  of  all 

desire,  which  logically  precludes  prayer,  for  prayer  is  rooted 

^Psychotherapy,  p.  100. 

^See  James,  The  Will  to  Believe. 


42  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

in  desire.  But  Buddha  has  been  deified  and  is  being  worshipped 
by  millions.  The  prayer-wheel  and  the  rosary  flourish  where 
Buddhism  obtains.  On  the  contrary,  Christianity  has  always 
maintained  that  prayer  is  the  core  of  spiritual-mindedness  and  as 
such  should  be  encouraged.  The  fact  that  prayer  is  so  wide- 
spread, even  among  the  adherents  of  cults  logically  opposed  to 
it,  is  an  indication  of  almost  universal  faith  in  its  efficacy^  for 
itjouTd  be  meaningless  to  pray  without  expecting  some  reac- 

Quite   naturally  at   this   point   the   question   arises,   Why 
does  the  individual  have  faith  in  prayer?    A  partial  answer  to 
this  query  would  be  a  description  of  the  facts  which  tend  to  in- 
spire and  conserve  faith.    Just  as  there 
are  various  factors  which  lend  their  as- 
T7     4-    \X7Vi*  u  sistance  in  introducing  the  prayer  into 

_  .  ,  the  mmd,  so  also  there  may  be  disc- 

Inspire  Faith  ,  ,  •    n         •        r  •  1 

overed  many  elements  mtiuencmg  laitn. 

Heredity  and  environment,  the  reading 
of  devotional  literature,  the  positive 
testimony  of  others,  the  memory  of  answer  to  prayer  in  the  past, 
the  favorable  interpretation  of  unanswered  prayers,  the  forget- 
ting of  negative  cases,  the  misconstruction  of  coincident  instances, 
and  the  repetition  of  prayer, — all  of  these  facts  and  many  more 
affect  the  faith  state.     Let  us  examine  them  one  by  one. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  heredity  and  environment  are 
important  factors  in  determining  the  kind  and  degree  of  faith 
in  prayer.     Each  person's  harvest  of  the  racial  life  shapes  his 

attitude  toward  prayer  to  some  extent. 

The  social  heritage  is  as  important  as 
Heredity  and  the  blood  heritage,  if  it  be  not  more  so, 

Environment  in  its  influence  on  faith.     The  social 

plane   into   which   one   is   born   cannot 

fail  to  color  the  outlook  on  prayer. 
The  mental  environment  in  terms  of  education  in  religion  and 
morals,  as  well  as  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  influences  the 
prayer  life.     If  the  hereditary  strains,  the  social  pressure,  the 


Faith  in  Prayer  43 

mental  and  moral  training,  favor  the  rise  and  development  of  a 
rich  prayer  life,  there  is  a  corresponding  stimulation  of  the  faith 
state.  When  these  factors  exert  a  negative  influence,  faith  in 
prayer  is  in  danger  of  being  entirely  lost. 

For  many  persons  religious  literature  is  authoritative  and 
is  consequently  a  stimulus  to  faith  in  prayer.  The  teaching  of 
Jesus  concerning  prayer  is  significantly  influential.  "And  all 
things,  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  prayer,  believing,  ye  shall  re- 
ceive them."^  "WhatjJiirigs  soever  ye  desire,  when  ye  pra^^, 
believe  that  ye  receive  them^  and  ye  shall  have  them."^  Such 
an  emphasiTon  ^aith  as  the  condition  of  answer  to  prayer,  com- 
ing as  it  does  from  the  lips  of  the  one  to  whom  is  accorded 
supreme  religious  leadership,  cannot  fail  to  multiply  the  faith  of 
his  followers.  Statements  like  the  following  taken  from  the 
literature  of  devotion,  tend  to  confirm 
and  repeat  the  biblical  promise  that 
Devotional  faith  in  prayer  shall  have  its  reward: 

Literature  and  "Where  there  is  true  faith,  it  is  impos- 

Faith  in  sible    but    the    answer    must    come."^ 

Prayer  "There  is  no  personal  duty  more  posi- 

tive or  more  unqualified  than  the  duty      ^  ^      \ 
of     faith."*       "How     many     prayers    ^  ,}•     \^ 
are  hindered  by  our  wretched  unbelief!     We  go  to  God  and  ^  ^^» 
ask  Him  for  something  that  is  positively  promised  in  His  Word, 
and  then  we  do  not  more  than  half  expect  to  get  it."^     "An 
astronomer  does  not  turn  his  telescope  to  the  skies  with  a  more 
reasonable  hope  of  penetrating  those  distant  heavens,  than   I 
have  of  reaching  the  mind  of  God,  by  lifting  up  my  heart  at  the 
throne  of  grace. "^     Prayer  literature  fairly  teems  with  such 
affirmations  of  the  value  of  faith  in  prayer:  line  upon  line,  pre- 
cept upon  precept,  remind  the  reader  that  a  faith  which  knows 

'        ^Matt  xxi,  22. 
^Mark  xi,  24. 

^A.  Murray,  With  Christ  in  the  School  of  Prayer,  p.  78. 
*H.  C.  Trumbull,  Prayer,  Its  Nature  and  Scope,  p.  69. 
5R.  A.  Torrey,  How  to  Pray,  p.  90 
«A.  Phelps,  The  Still  Hour,  p.  43. 


44  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

no  shadow  of  doubt  is  absolutely  essential.     In  fact,  lack  of 
faith  is  the  most  frequent  explanation  of  unanswered  prayer. 

Closely  allied  to  the  influence  of  religious  literature  on 
faith,  is  the  testimony  of  others  who  have  received  unquestion- 
able answers  to  prayer.     Our  faith  is  rooted  in  the  faith  of 
others.    Faith  is  contagious.    The  more 
suggestible  the  individual  is,  the  more 
The  Testimony  likely  is  he  to  accept  the  testimony  of 

of  Others  another  and   to  regulate  his  own  ex- 

periences accordingly.     To  recall  defi- 
nite answers  to  prayer  obtained  by  an- 
other, whose  account  of  the  experience  is  reliable,  cannot  but 
encourage  one  to  make  a  similar  venture  of  faith. 

The  memory  of  positive  personal  prayer  experiences  is  a 
faith  stimulus.     The  individual  waxes  bold  in  his  prayer  life 
when  he  recalls  the  results  obtained  during  the  past.     The  re- 
membrance of  the  presence  of  God  in 
an  hour  of  discouragement,  of  the  heal- 
The  Memory  ing  of  a  disease,  of  a  conversion  experi- 

of  Past  ence,  of  the  elimination  of  evil  from 

Experiences  the  personality,  of  temporal  prosperity, 

of  divine  guidance  out  of  a  perplexing 
situation,  and  of  countless  other  things 
wrought  through  believing  prayer,  tends  to  raise  faith  to  a  high 
power  of  efficiency.  James  says  that  the  object  of  remembrance 
is  suffused  with  a  warmth  and  intimacy  to  which  no  object  of 
mere  conception  ever  attains.^  The  successful  past  prayer 
experience  as  the  object  of  recollection  is  bathed  in  tender 
emotion  than  which  there  is  no  more  effective  means  of  increasing 
faith. 


^Briefer  Course,  p.  158. 


Faith  in  Prayer  45 

The  usual  attitude  taken  toward  unanswered  prayers  is  of 
such  a  nature  as  not  to  lessen  faith.     They  are  generally  either 
interpreted  in  terms  casting  no  reflections  whatsoever  on  prayer, 
or  they  are  entirely  ignored  and  for- 
gotten.    Negative  cases  are  readily  ac- 
-,,      J  .  counted  for  by  the  majority  in  terms  of 

-  TT  J  "lack  of  faith,"  "lack  of  definiteness." 

of  Unanswered  ,,,    ,      ,  ,,  ,,. 

_  lack  or  perseverance,       improper  ob- 

Prayers  .  ,  „  ,,  r       ,  • 

jects  of  prayer,       prayer  for  thmgs  we 

do  not  need,"  and  the  like.  Some  are 
so  indiscriminating  that  they  refuse  to 
distinguish  answered  from  unanswered  prayers,  stoutly  insisting 
that  "no"  is  as  truly  an  answer  as  "yes."  They  hold  that  often 
Providence  withholds  the  insignificant  thing  prayed  for  in  order 
that  an  infinitely  greater  blessing  may  come ;  that  divine  Wisdom 
often  overrules  our  short-sightedness  for  our  own  good.  In 
some  such  way  the  unanswered  prayer  when  taken  into  consid- 
eration at  all  is  almost  invariably  converted  into  a  reason  for  the 
continuation  and  increase  of  faith. 

But  most  of  the  unanswered  prayers  are  not  even  accounted 
for;  they  are  commonly  forgotten.     The  writer  know^s  of  no 
book  bearing  the  title  "Unanswered  Prayers."     Doubtless  an 
overplus   of   material   would   be   avail- 
able for  such  a  study,  but  such  a  work 
Forgotten  would  be  laughed   to    scorn    by    those 

Negative  Cases  whose  habit  it  is  to  ignore  negative  in- 

stances. On  the  other  hand,  the  mar- 
ket is  drugged  with  a  superabundance 
of  literature  on  positive  experiences  in  prayer.  It  seems  to  be 
human  to  forget  our  failures  and  to  remember  our  successes :  the 
former  we  write  in  the  sand,  and  the  latter  we  chisel  in  the 
granite.  "We  should  bear  in  mind  the  story  of  one  who  was 
shown  a  temple  with  the  pictures  of  all  the  persons  who  had 
been  saved  from  shipwreck  after  paying  their  vows.  When 
asked  whether  he  did  not  now  acknowledge  the  power  of  the 
gods,  'Aye,'  he  answered,  'but  where  are  they  painted  that  were 


46  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

drowned  after  paying  their  vows?'  "^  "In  the  recent  Boxer 
uprising  some  of  the  missionaries  escaped;  and  their  escape  was 
spoken  of  as  a  signal  case  of  answer  to  prayer.  But  what  of 
those  who  did  not  escape?"^  From  the  foregoing  it  would 
be  rational  to  infer  that  when  ten  prayers  are  made  and  only  one 
of  them  is  answered,  as  a  rule  the  one  successful  experience  is 
remembered  and  made  known  to  others,  while  the  nine  dismal 
failures  are  graciously  overlooked.  Thus  the  unanswered 
prayer  does  not  affect  faith,  while  the  focusing  of  the  attention 
upon  the  answered  prayer  intensifies  the  faith  state. 

Faith  in  prayer  is  not  infrequently  so  greedy  as  to  take 
credit  for  coincident  answers.     Such  it  accepts  at  their  surface 
value.     Recently  the  writer  read  the  case  of  a  certain  man  who 
made  the  assertion  that  he  prayed  God 
to  grant  the  Americans  a  bloodless  vic- 
Coincident  tory   over   the    Spaniards    at    Manilla. 

Answers  When  the  news  came  that  without  the 

loss  of  life  on  their  part  the  Americans 
had  won  the  battle  of  Manilla,  the  man 
rejoiced  and  steadfastly  maintained  that  the  victory  was  a  di- 
rect answer  to  his  prayer.  What  others  would  unhesitatingly 
call  a  mere  coincidence, — for  prayers  for  bloodless  victories  are 
constantly  offered  during  any  war — he  accepted  as  a  particular 
intervention  of  God  in  answer  to  his  prayer.  He  seemed  to 
imply  that  if  he  had  not  made  that  prayer  some  Americans 
would  have  been  killed.  In  such  a  case  there  is  presumption 
and  blind  acceptance,  and  but  little  analysis  and  discrimination. 
Francis  Bacon  calls  attention  to  the  tendency  to  adapt  facts  to 
our  preconceived  notions:  **The  human  understanding  is  no 
dry  light,  but  receives  an  infusion  from  the  will  and  affections, 
whence  proceed  sciences  which  may  be  called  'sciences  as  one 
would.'  For  what  a  man  had  rather  were  true  he  more  readily 
believes."  But  even  the  interpretation  of  certain  happenings  in 
terms  of  answers  to  prayer  when  there  is  no  valid  reason  for  do- 
ing so  multiplies  faith. 

^E.  W.  Scripture,  The  New  Psychology,  p.  3. 
^B.  P.  Bowne,  The  Essence  of  Religion,  p.  158. 


Faith  in  Prayer  47 

We  have  already  seen  how  the  repetition  of  a  prayer  gives 
birth   to  several   accessories  of  the  attention.     In  addition  to 
these  results,  reiteration  of  the  prayer  may  evoke  faith.    At  first 
belief  may  weaver  like  a  reed  shaken  in 
the  w^ind,  but  w^ith  each  successive  repe- 
Repetition  tition  of  the  prayer  faith  may  develop, 

and  Faith  Analogies  beyond  the  pale  of  prayer  are 

not  lacking.  A  very  crass  illustration 
w^ould  be  the  case  of  a  liar  w^ho  repeats 
his  falsehoods  so  many  times  that  ultimately  he  himself  believes 
them.  Through  reiteration  the  mental  pictures  of  the  false- 
hoods become  clearer  and  clearer,  w^hile  the  mental  imagery  of 
the  facts  as  they  really  are  grows  dim.  Who  has  not  seen  wares 
so  persistently  advertised  that,  although  skeptical  for  a  long 
time,  he  finally  came  to  believe  in  their  pretended  value  and 
made  a  purchase  of  the  same?  Since  it  is  a  law  of  our  being 
that  we  grow  in  the  direction  of  exercise,  faith  increases  through 
faith.  In  the  words  of  another.  "Now  there  is  only  one  way 
in  which  we  can  learn  to  trust,  and  that  is  by  trusting.  There- 
fore, the  duty  of  the  man  who  feels  inert  and  incapable  of  rising 
to  the  level  of  his  belief,  is  to  arouse  himself,  to  say  to  himself 
again  and  again  until  it  has  become,  as  it  were,  his  subconscious 
possession,  'Trust  in  God  is  rational  and  right,  and  therefore 
trust  I  will.'  "1 

It  must  be  conceded  that  many  elements  have  arisen  during 

the  natural  history  of  prayer,  which  evoke  and  conserve  faith. 

The  question  may  be  asked.  Why  is  it  necessary  to  have  faith  in 

prayer?      Why    do    many    influential 

facts  stimulate  the  faith  state?     What 

An  Interpretation        is  the  function  of  faith  in  prayer?     An 

of  Faith  in  interpretation    of    faith    may    answer 

Prayer  these  questions  to  some  extent.     It  will 

be  recalled  that  in  the  above  discussion 

of  the  psychology  of  auto-suggestion  it 

was  pointed  out  that  faith  is  activity  in  the  direction  of  the  self- 

^E.  Worcester,  Religion  and  Medicine,  p.  319. 


48  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

realization  of  the  suggested  idea.  Faith  is  self-assertion  in  both 
auto-suggestion  and  prayer.  Moved  by  faith  the  soul  beats  its 
wings  against  the  bars  of  its  prison  in  its  endeavor  to  break 
through  its  limitations  and  live  a  larger  life.  In  the  passages 
already  quoted  Jesus  makes  faith  the  primary  condition  of 
answer  to  prayer,  but  in  the  following  quotation  he  makes  ac- 
tivity the  condition  which  must  be  met:  "Ask,  and  it  shall  be 
given  you;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened 
unto  you."^  Now  activity  and  faith  are  not  mutually  ex- 
clusive, but  the  former  is  the  expression  of  the  latter.  Jesus' 
exhortation  to  ask,  seek,  and  knock  is  a  commentary  on  faith  in 
prayer.2     *'To  believe  is  to  will  firmly."  ^. 

The  justification  of  faith  is  that  it  tends  to  realize  its  ob- 
ject.   The  function  of  faith  is  to  realize  the  prayer.    The  lean- 
ing out  toward  deliverance,  which  is  characteristic    of     faith, 
tends  to  give  point  and  direction  to  the 
subconscious  activity  of  the  personality. 
The  Function  If  we  take  seriously  the  doctrine  of  the 

of  Faith  unity  of  life,  and  the  evidence  compels 

us  to  do  so,  we  must  admit  that  in  both 
auto-suggestion  and  prayer  the  reaction 
of  faith  is  the  same.  To  say  the  least,  subconscious  incubation 
in  response  to  faith  in  a  self-suggested  idea  renders  the  same  re- 
action in  response  to  faith  in  prayer  highly  probable.  The  read- 
ing of  prayer  literature,  the  testimony  of  others,  the  memory  of 
past  experiences,  the  favorable  interpretation  or  the  ignoring  of 
negative  cases,  the  misconstruction  of  coincident  answers,  the 
reiteration  of  one's  belief, — all  of  these  factors  tend  to  give  rise 
to  longings,  hopes,  aspirations,  strivings,  and  endeavors,  which 
in  turn  stimulate  the  subconscious  activities  in  the  direction  of 


^Luke  xi,  9. 

^The  popular  mind  makes  no  distinction  between  the 
two  terms  faith  and  belief.  While  there  may  be  a  technical  dis- 
tinction, for  present  purposes  it  will  be  wholly  unnecessary  to 
make  it.  Both  words  will  be  used  in  the  same  sense  and  inter- 
changeably. 

^A.  Murray,  With  Christ  in  the  School  of  Prayer,  p.  75. 


Faith  in  Prayer  49 

the  answer  to  the  prayer.  "The  unaccomplished  volition  is 
doubtless  an  indication  that  new  nerve  connections  are  budding, 
that  a  new  channel  of  mental  activity  is  being  opened;  and,  in 
turn,  the  act  of  centering  force  (trying)  in  the  given  direction 
may,  through  increased  circulation  and  heightened  nutrition  at 
that  point,  itself  directly  contribute  to  the  formation  of  those 
nerve  connections,  through  which  the  high  potential  of  energy 
which  corresponds  to  the  new  insight  expends  itself."^ 
Somewhere  James,  with  his  usual  poignancy,  has  said  that  to 
know  our  limitations  is  in  a  certain  sense  to  be  already  beyond 
them.  The  fact  that  the  individual  who  is  praying  or  making 
an  auto-suggestion  is  wholly  ignorant  and  unconscious  of  any 
effort  to  realize  his  own  prayer  or  suggested  idea,  is  by  no  means 
a  valid  indication  to  the  contrary.  Nevertheless,  our  inquiry 
into  the  nature  of  the  answer  to  the  prayer  must  be  reserved  for 
the  following  chapters. 

It  must  not  be  overlooked  that  while  from  one  point  of 
view  faith  expresses  itself  in  willing,  from  another  point  of  view 
faith  is  regarded  as  passivity,  inactivity,  receptivity,  and  self- 
surrender.     Writers  of   devotional  lit- 
erature are  one  in  their  preachment  of 
Faith  as  the  surrender  of  the  will  as  an  essential 

Self-surrender  of  the  prayer  life.     Mr.   Murray  ex- 

presses the  opinion  of  the  majority  of 
them  when  he  says,  "Faith  is  simply 
surrender:  I  yield  myself  to  the  impression  the  tidings  I  hear 
make  on  me.  By  faith  /  yield  myself  to  the  living  God.'"^ 
Faith  as  self-surrender  is  the  casting  of  the  self  into  the  abyss. 
Like  a  gambler  who  has  lost  all  save  a  paltry  sum  which  he 
ventures  as  his -last  stake,  knowing  well  that  he  has  but  little  to 
lose  and  everything  to  win,  so  the  person  after  many  seemingly 
unsuccessful  efforts  to  obtain  an  answer  to  his  prayer  may  in 
utter  despair  cast  himself  without  reservation  upon  a  higher 
power  as  his  last  hope.  The  act  of  surrender  is  frequently  fol- 
lowed by  what  seems  to  the  person  to  be  a  sudden,  and  often  a 

^E.  D.  Starbuck,  The  Psychology  of  Religion,  p.  111. 
^With  Christ  in  the  School  of  Prayer,  p.  89. 


50  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

dramatic,  answering  of  the  prayer.  Now  surrender  is  not  pe- 
culiar to  prayer ;  it  is  quite  common  in  auto-suggestion.  In  auto- 
suggestion, as  pointed  out  elsewhere,  it  is  often  necessary  to  cease 
straining  in  order  that  the  subconscious  may  report  to  conscious- 
ness. A  trite  but  apt  illustration  is  the  recollection  of  a  name 
after  one  has  given  up  his  efforts  to  recall  it.  Faith  as  active 
and  strained  expectation  initiates  a  subconscious  process  in  the 
right  general  direction.  In  order  to  reach  the  desired  end  the 
subconscious  processes  may  deviate  somewhat  from  the  initial 
tendency  given  them  by  conscious  effort.  When  active  effort 
and  a  corresponding  growth  of  the  nervous  system  are  not  paral- 
lel, a  conflict  between  the  two  arises.  Surrender,  or  the  ces- 
sation of  conscious  striving  and  trying,  dissolves  the  conflict  and 
thus  makes  possible  the  complete  realization  of  the  suggested 
idea  or  the  answering  of  the  prayer.  The  conflict  between  the 
subconscious  incubation  and  the  slightly  misdirected  activity  of 
the  will  may  result  in  the  indifference,  apathy,  exhaustion,  and 
even  despair,  which  generally  precede  and  accompany  the  act  of 
surrender.  The  exhaustion  of  the  emotional  brain-centers  may 
stand  in  causal  relation  to  the  person's  impression  that  further 
striving  is  useless.  But  be  that  all  as  it  may,  it  seems  to  be 
the  rule  that  an  attitude  of  passivity  and  receptivity  must  be 
assumed  before  a  self -suggested  idea  can  be  realized  or  a  prayer 
be  answered.  Not  to  insist  that  surrender  is  perhaps  after  all  a 
form  of  self-assertion,  it  follows  that  if  this  interpretation  is  not 
fallacious,  from  the  point  of  view  of  its  initiatory  and  stimulat- 
ing function,  faith  is  the  activity  of  the  will,  and,  that  from  the 
point  of  view  of  its  function  to  give  way  to  the  almost  mature 
subconscious  process,  faith  is  the  inactivity  of  the  will. 

We  have  seen  that  psychologists  are  agreed  that  a  sugges- 
tion may  be  effective  regardless  of  who  or  what  receives  credit 
for  the  outcome.     A  firm  belief  that  the  suggested  idea  will  be 


Faith  in  Prayer  51 

realized  is  of  prime  importance:  the  identity  of  the  supposed 

agent  is  a  secondary  matter  so  far  as 

.       .,      .  the  subconscious  reaction  is  concerned. 

^,       .          ^  It  does  not  in  the  least  affect  the  sub- 
the  Answer  to 

T^            ^    -nv-  conscious  processes  tendmg   to     realize 

Prayer  to  Diverse  ...       ^11,1,, 

.          .  the  idea  or  health  whether  the  patient 

/agencies  t_      r  *  1    ■                          1  •  • 

has  laith  in  a  patent  medicine  or  an 

electric  belt.  It  is  significant  that 
answers  to  prayer  are  ascribed  to  diverse  agencies.  While  some 
believe  in  a  graven  image,  others  believe  in  a  prayer- wheel ; 
while  some  believe  in  Buddha,  others  believe  in  their  ancestors; 
while  some  believe  in  the  Virgin,  others  believe  in  Jesus;  while 
some  believe  in  an  anthropomorphic  God,  others  believe  in  an 
immanent  God.  While  almost  every  conceivable  power  to 
which  an  individual  may  attach  supreme  worth  and  value  is 
appealed  to  and  believed  in,  all  votaries  alike  testify  to  the  effi- 
cacy of  prayer.  The  reliance  on  such  a  variety  of  powers  seems 
to  indicate  that  the  answering  of  prayer  itself  is  independent  of 
the  kind  of  power  invoked,  for  it  is  faith  as  such  which  makes 
operative  the  laws  of  the  mental  life.  There  is,  for  instance, 
the  peculiar  practice  which  makes  of  prayer  a  charm,  a  fetish,  a 
talisman.  It  is  characterized  by  faith  in  the  mere  repetition  of 
prayers  rather  than  by  faith  in  a  prayer-answering  God.  It  is  a 
dependence  on  the  mere  saying  of  prayers.  A  case  in  point  is 
the  following  example  of  the  so-called  prayer  chain,  which  has 
been  so  widely  circulated  that  it  has  become  a  veritable  nuisance : 
"Lord  Jesus,  I  implore  thee  to  bless  all  mankind.  Keep  us 
from  evil  by  thy  precious  blood  and  make  us  to  dwell  with  thee 
in  eternity.  This  is  an  exact  copy  of  an  ancient  prayer.  Copy 
it  and  see  what  will  happen.  It  is  said  in  Jerusalem  that  he 
who  will  not  copy  it  will  meet  with  mis- 
fortune, but  he  who  will  write  it  nine 
.  days  beginning  with  the  day  he  receives 

Faith  in  a  j^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  -^  ^^^^i  day  to  some 

Prayer  Chain  ^^..^^^  ^.jj  ^^  ^j^^  ^^^^^  j^y  experience 

some  great  joy  and  will  be  delivered 
from  all  calamities.    Make  a  wish  while 
writing  this  and  do  not  break  the  chain." 


52  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

The  incessant  and    utterly    meaningless  repetition  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer  on  the  part  of  numberless  persons  savors  of  the 
magician's  incantations.     It  looks  as  if  many  had  substituted 
the  saying  of  a  prayer  for  the  waving  of  the  magician's  wand. 
The  Rev.  F.  W.  Robertson  deplores  a  similar  practice  of  his  boy- 
hood.    He  says,  "I  recollect  when  I  was  taken  up  with  nine 
other  boys  at  school  to  be  unjustly  punished,  I  prayed  to  escape 
the  shame.     The  master,  previously  to  flogging  all  the  others, 
said  to  me ;  'Little  boy,  I  excuse  you ;  I  have  particular  reasons 
for  it,'  and  in  fact,  I  was  never  flogged  during  the  three  years 
I  was  at  that  school.    The  incident  settled  my  mind  for  a  long 
time;  only  I  doubt  whether  it  did  me 
any  good,  for  prayer  became  a  charm.    I 
fancied  myself  the  favorite  of  the   In- 
Faith  in  Prayer  visible.    I  knew  I  carried  about  a  talis- 

as  a  Talisman  ^^^^  unknown  to  others,  which  would 

save  me  from  all  harm.    It  did  not  make 
me  any  better,  it  simply  gave  me  se- 
curity, as  the  Jew  felt  safe  in  being  the  descendant  of  Abraham, 
or  went  into  battle  under  the  protection  of  the  Ark,  sinning  no 
less  all  the  time."^ 

A  somewhat  higher  type  of  this  variety  of  prayer  experi- 
ence is  represented  in  the  following  quotations:  ''Times  with- 
out  number,   in   moments  of   supreme   doubt,   disappointment, 
discouragement,  unhappiness,  a  certain 
prayer  formula,  which  by  degrees  has 
built  itself  up   in  my  mind,  has  been 
Faith  m  a  followed,  in  its  utterance,  by  quick  and 

Prayer  Formula  astonishing  relief."^     In  a  letter  to  a 

friend  F.  W.  Myers  writes  as  follows: 
"Plainly  we  must  endeavor  to  draw  in 
as  much  spiritual  life  as  possible,  and  we  must  place  our  minds 
in  any  attitude  which  experience  shows  to  be  favorable  to  such 
indrawal.    Prayer  is  the  general  name  for  that  attitude  of  open 


'^Life  and  Letters,  p.  52. 

^Unbekannt,  Outlook,  Vol.  Ixxxiii,  p.  858. 


Faith  in  Prayer 

Of 

and  earnest  .expectancy.     If  we  then  ask  to  whom  to  "pTdiy,  the 

answer   (strangely  enough)   must  be  that  that  does  not  much 

matter.    The  prayer  is  not  indeed  a  purely  subjective  thing; — 

it  means  a  real  increase  in  intensity  of 

absorption  of  spiritual  power  or  grace; 

T,  .  .    .     T-»  but  we  do  not  know  enough  of  what 

Faith  in  Prayer  ,        ,       .     ,        .  .         , ,       , 

A  ^^-^    J       c  takes  place  m  the  spirit  world  to  know 
as  an  Attitude  of  ,         ,                                     ,     . 
r^         r^         ^  how  the  prayer  operates; — who  is  cog- 
Open  Expectancy  .           /.           \^        ,      ,        ,         , 
nizant  or  it,  or  through  what  channel 

the  grace  is  given.     Better  let  children 

pray  to  Christ,  who  at  any  rate  is  the 

highestjndividual  spirit  of  whom  we  have  any  knowledge.     But 

it  would  be  rash  to  say  that  Christ  himself  hears  us:  while  to 

say  that  God  hears  us  is  merely  to  restate  the  first  principle, — 

that  grace  which  flows  in  from  the  infinite  spiritual  world. "^ 

While  many  facts  sustain  the  conclusion  that  it  is  faith,  and 

not  necessarily  who  or  what  is  appealed  to  and  acknowledged  as 

the  grantor  of  the  request,  which  initiates  subconscious  processes 

tending  to  realize  the  prayer,  it  should  not  be  overlooked  that 

the   kind   of   things   prayed   for   varies 

somewhat  with  one's  interpretation  of 

_-      .__     ,  ,     .  the  power  implored.    While  a  theology 

The  World-view  -  n  ,     t  • 

,    .      ^  cannot  influence  the  forces  answermg  a 

and  the  Prayer  ,11.  111         l 

prayer,  and  while  it    would     be     the 

world's  greatest  tragedy  if  the  answer 
to  prayer  depended  on  a  proper  concep- 
tion of  God,  nevertheless,  it  is  reasonable  to  infer  that  a  low 
conception  of  the  character  of  God  begets  prayers  of  a  corre- 
spondingly low  type,  while  on  the  other  hand,  a  higher  concep- 
tion of  the  character  of  God  begets  prayers  on  a  higher  ethical 
plane.  Prayers  cannot  but  reflect  to  some  extent  the  world- 
view  held  by  the  person. 

This  chapter  has  discussed  faith  in  prayer  in  its  various 
aspects.  We  have  seen  that  it  is  essential  to  both  auto-sugges- 
tion and  prayer.     The  strains  of  heredity,  the  social  pressure, 


^Cited  in  James,  Varieties  of  Religious  Experience,  p.  476. 


54  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

suggestion  and  imitation,  religious  training,  either  decrease  or 
increase  faith.  The  reading  of  devotional  literature,  the  testi- 
mony of  others  who  lead  rich  prayer  lives,  the  memory  of  per- 
sonal and  positive  experiences,  the  favorable  interpretation  of 
unanswered  prayers,  the  forgetting  of  many  negative  cases,  the 
acceptance  of  coincident  answers  at  their  surface  value,  the  repe- 
tition of  the  prayer, — all  of  these  elements  and  many  others  con- 
spire to  create  and  augment  the  faith  state.  In  its  early  stage 
the  function  of  faith  is  to  arouse  and  shape  the  subconscious 
activities  upon  which  the  answer  to  prayer  depends.  Later  one 
must  assume  an  attitude  of  passivity  and  receptivity  in  order  that 
the  opposition  of  conscious  effort  to  the  rapidly  maturing  sub- 
conscious product  may  be  withdrawn.  The  variety  of  powers 
implored  to  answer  the  prayer  is  an  indication  that  faith  is  the 
pertinent  factor,  while  the  identity  of  the  power  invoked  is  a 
secondary  matter.  The  character  of  the  prayer  is,  however,  a 
partial  disclosure  of  the  person's  phi- 
losophy. The  efficacy  of  auto-sugges- 
Summary  tion  is  independent  of  who  or  what  is 

accredited  with  the  result.  Thus  far 
we  have  seen  that  attention  and  faith 
in  prayer  are  in  terms  of  introducing  an  idea  into  the  mind  and 
having  an  unshaken  confidence  that  the  answer  will  come.  It 
yet  remains  to  be  seen  whether  or  not  the  answer  is  really  a  sub- 
conscious phenomenon  coming  in  response  to  a  self-imposed  idea. 
If  the  answer  to  the  prayer  is  not  a  subconscious  product,  a  de- 
scription of  private  prayer  in  terms  of  auto-suggestion  breaks 
down  at  the  crucial  point.  It  is  now  our  task  to  examine  the 
answers  to  prayer  themselves  in  order  to  test  the  validity  of 
what  the  study  of  attention  and  faith  has  led  us  to  anticipate. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  ANSWER  TO  PRAYER 

What  is  the  nature  of  the  phenomenon  which  comes  in 
answer  to  the  prayer?  Is  it  a  product  of  the  normal  processes 
of  our  mental  life,  or  is  it  independent  of  and  at  variance  with 
the  natural  order?  Is  it  describable  in  terms  of  subconscious 
incubation,  or  is  it  totally  unlike  any- 
thing else  with  which  we  are  acquaint- 
Method  of  Analogy  ed  ?  In  the  following  attempt  to 
Used  in  Investigat-  answer  these  vital  questions,  the  method 
ing  the  Answer  of  comparing  each  typical  form  of  an- 

to  Prayer  swer  to  prayer  with  related  subconscious 

phenomena  will  be  adopted.  This 
method  of  procedure  is  called  the  meth- 
of  of  analogy.  If  it  can  be  conclusively  shown  that  answers 
to  prayer  and  kindred  subconscious  phenomena  are  identical  in 
their  fundamental  aspects,  the  inference  may  be  logically  drawn 
that  they  are  of  the  same  general  character.  The  value  of  this 
method  will  depend  upon  a  real  identity  in  the  important  char- 
acteristics of  the  phenomena  compared ;  the  resemblance  must  be 
essential  to  the  very  nature  of  the  things  under  consideration. 
The  points  of  correspondence  must  be  weighed  rather  than 
counted,  for  it  would  be  fallacious  to  conclude  that  two  things 
are  of  a  piece  when  they  are  identical  in  a  large  number  of  minor 
aspects  and  radically  different  in  only  a  few  essential  respects. 

The  many  varieties  of  prayer  experience,  which  are  possible 
to  the  individual,  make  a  classification  of  prayers  extremely 
difficult.  Tentatively,  petitional  prayers  may  be  divided  into 
two  classes:  prayers  answered  through  the  self,  and  prayers 
answered  through  another  self.  Prayers  falling  under  the  first 
division  are  answered  through  the  life-forces  within  the  organism 
itself,  and  those  of  the  second  class  are  answered  through  the  co- 
operation of  two  or  more  selves.     This  classification  is  in  agree- 


56  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

ment  with  the  classification  of  suggestion  into  auto-suggestion 
and  social  suggestion.     Prayers  answered  through  the  self  have  a 
special   correspondence   to   auto-sugges- 
tion, and  those  answered  through  a  co- 
Classification  operating  self  are  related  to  social  sug- 
of  Prayers  gestion.     This  chapter  will  be  devoted 
to  a  study  of  the  answers  to  prayer  of 
the   first   class,   i.    e.   of   those   coming 
through    the   praying   self.      Under   this   head   we   shall   con- 
sider the  prayers  for  regeneration,  the  elimination  of  evil,  the 
cure  of  disease,  divine  guidance.     It  will  be  well  to  bear  in  mind 
that  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  is  not  so  much  to  discover  which 
prayers  may  be  interpreted  in  terms  of  social  suggestion  and 
which  in  terms  of  auto-suggestion  as  it  is  to  inquire  into  the 
nature  of  the  answer. 

The  wonderful  experience  of  regeneration  is  quite  generally 
attributed  to  the  power  of  believing  prayer.  In  fact,  conversion 
and  prayer  have  so  much  in  common  that  when  the  psychology 
of  the  former  is  understood,  the  psychology  of  many  prayers  is 
also  clear.  Fortunately,  Professors 
Leuba,  Starbuck,  Coe,  James,  and 
Regeneration  others  have  written  the  psychology  of 

and  Prayer  conversion,    and    have    therefore    prac- 

tically discussed  the  type  of  prayer  in- 
volved. Scattered  throughout  Profes- 
sor Starbuck's  exhaustive  inductive  study  there  are  many  auto- 
biographical accounts  of  the  conversion  experience  in  terms  of 
prayer.  Dr.  Starbuck  is  driven  to  conclude  that  the  re-birth  of 
the  personality  is  largely  a  subconscious  process.  When  the 
process  of  regeneration  is  marked  by  well-defined  crises,  a  nar- 
rowing of  the  field  of  consciousness,  faith  as  strained  expecta- 
tion, self-surrender,  and  elation  are  recognizable.  In  most 
cases  it  is  impossible  to  determine  to  a  finality  whether  the  prayer 
for  conversion  has  its  inception  in  an  auto-suggestion  or  a  social 
suggestion,  but  under  normal  conditions  the  subconscious  activi- 
ties are  the  same  in  both  kinds  of  suggestion.     Let  us  trace  the 


The  Answer  to  Prayer  57 

elements  which  look  toward  the  subconscious  content  of  the 
answer  to  the  prayer  for  conversion.^ 

The  prayer  expresses  the  disquieting  sense  of  undoneness 
and  the  yearning  for  the  larger  self.     "There  are  forces  in  hu- 
man life  and  its  surroundings  which  tend  to  break  the  unity 
and  harmony  of  consciousness;  and  its 
unity  once  destroyed,  the  contrast  be- 
Narrowing  the  tween  what  is,  and  what  might  be,  gives 

Field  of  birth  to  ideals  and  sets  the  two  selves  in 

Consciousness  sharp  opposition  to  each  other."^     Mat- 

thew Arnold  in  his  "Buried  Life"  has 
described  this  state  of  mind  as  follows: 
"From  the  soul's  subterranean  depth  upborne 
As  from  an  infinitely  distant  land. 
Come  airs,  and  floating  echoes,  and  convey 
A  melancholy  into  all  our  day." 
So  long  as   this  mental   distress  obtains   the   person   does  not 
need  to  force  himself  to  pray;  his  inner  conflict  is  so  great  that 
it  in  itself  is  sufficient  to  drive  him  to  his  knees.     His  emotions 
are  aroused,  he  prefers  solitude,  he  fasts  or  eats  sparingly,  he 
prostrates  himself,  he  reiterates  his  petition  for  salvation, — all  of 
which  intensifies  his  prayer  experience.     It  is  needless  to  add 
that  under  these  circumstances  the  prayer  for  deliverance  is  at- 
tended to  to  the  exclusion  of  other  impressions,  that  it  is  imposed 
upon  the  mind. 

The  person  may  for  a  long  time  continue  to  be  apparently 
unsuccessful  in  his  efforts  to  bring  about  the  answering  of  his 


^Since  no  distinction  between  conversion  and  regeneration  is 

necessary  in  this  discussion,  none  is  made. 
^E.  D.  Starbuck,  The  Psychology  of  Religion,  p.  155. 


39  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

prayer  for  conversion.     Nature's  way  of  healing  the  breach  in 
the  mental  life  is  to  widen  it.     The  subconscious  growth  of  a 
new  personality  is  a  complex  process  re- 
quiring considerable  time  and  repeated 
Strainer!  stimulation.   The  seeker  strengthens  his 

«  ^  a.'       •  ^aith  by  reading  biblical  and  other  de- 

Expectation  in  11.  ,  „.       , 

•,  ^.  votional  literature,  by  recallmg  the  con- 

Regeneration  ,     ,         ,  . 

version  ot  others,  by  repeating  to  him- 
self his  assurance  of  being  heard.  He 
feels  encouraged  to  keep  on  praying  till 
the  light  comes  to  scatter  the  darkness.  What  he  longs  for, 
leans  out  toward,  strives  for,  and  expects  is  a  cue  for  the  sub- 
conscious activities.  Faith  as  effort  and  the  subliminal  self  in- 
teract on  each  other  and  thus  bring  to  pass  the  consummation 
ardently  desired.  In  Christendom  where  Jesus  is  the  acknowl- 
edged moral  leader,  the  subconscious  processes  of  the  seeker 
naturally  cluster  about  a  conception  of  him.  To  hold  in  mind 
the  Christ-like  ideal,  and  to  believe  in  the  possibility  of  attaining 
it,  is  the  first  step  toward  its  actualization. 

It  may  be  alleged  that  in  some  cases  the  interval  between 
the  making  of  the  prayer  and  its  answer  in  terms  of  the  new 
life  is  altogether  too  short  to  admit  the  possibility  of  the  slow 
subconscious  growth  of  a  new  personality.     This  argument  is 
advanced  by   those  who  still  cling  to 
the  conception   that  in  order  to  have 
a  divine  source  a  phenomenon  must  be 
Sudden  independent  of  natural  law.     The  ex- 

Conversions  perience  of  St.  Paul  is  frequently  men- 

tioned in  support  of  the  allegation  that 
that  the  process  of  conversion  lies  wholly 
outside  a  natural  causal  series.  Those 
who  are  of  this  opinion  fail  to  take  into  account  that  although 
consenting  to  Stephen's  death,  Paul  was  too  broadminded  not  to 
have  been  profoundly  moved  by  the  eloquent  apology  and  heroic 
spirit  of  the  martyr.  Neither  should  one  overlook  the  probability 
that  the  moral  integrity  of  the  Christians  whom  Paul  persecuted 
could  not  have  been  lost  upon  one  with  his  passion  for  righteous- 


The  Answer  to  Prayer  59 

ness.  Furthermore,  it  is  significant  that  between  his  vision  be- 
fore the  gates  of  Damascus  and  his  baptism  three  days  of  fasting 
and  prayer  intervened.  Superintendents  of  rescue  missions  and 
popular  evangelists  are  constantly  referring  to  persons  who 
come  to  a  religious  service  without  previous  interest  in  their 
own  religious  life  and  experience  regeneration  before  the  gather- 
ing is  dismissed.  In  reply  two  things  must  be  held  fast.  In 
the  first  place,  no  observer  can  deny  that  soon  after  the  excite- 
ment of  a  revival  is  over  many  of  the  converts  of  the  peripatetic 
evangelist  "backslide."  The  instability  of  many  may  be  due 
to  a  lack  of  preparation  coupled  with  a  forced,  hot-house  growth 
of  the  religious  life,  induced  by  the  spell  of  the  revivalist.  The 
more  permanent  rescue  mission  doubtless  prevents  many  losses 
by  training  its  converts  in  religion  and  morals,  and  by  enlisting 
them  in  social  service,  by  means  of  which  the  new  life  develops 
and  finally  becomes  a  subconscious  possession,  even  though  the 
conversion  experience  was  superficial.  In  the  second  place,  no 
one  will  deny  that  many  of  the  so-called  sudden  conversions  are 
permanent.  There  is  reason  to  question  whether  these  stable 
cases  are  not  invariably  influenced  by  previous  religious  impres- 
sions made,  perhaps  years  before,  by  the  home  and  church. 
Deep  down  in  the  life  of  the  one  experiencing  a  sudden  answer 
to  his  prayer  for  conversion  there  have  doubtless  been  antecedent 
yearnings  and  a  reaching  out  for  a  better  life,  which  have  resulted 
in  a  corresponding  growth  of  the  nervous  system.  An  oppor- 
tune word  from  the  lips  of  a  revivalist  may  be  the  spark  which 
explodes  into  consciousness  what  has  been  maturing  subcon- 
sciously for  some  time. 

Parallels  of  subconscious  incubation  in  response  to  straining 
are  common  in  realms  other  than  the  religious,  if  one  may  make 
the  distinction  for  the  sake  of  clearness.     The  subconscious  ac- 
tivity in  such  mental  processes  as  the 
solution  of  a  mathematical  problem  dur- 
Parallel  Cases  of  ing   sleep,    the   acquisition   of   skill   in 

Subconscious  piano-playing,  the  conception  of  a  plot 

Incubation  for  a  novel,  the  recollection  of  seeming- 

ly forgotten  data,  the  contrivance  of  an 
invention,   is  too  generally  recognized 
and  admitted  to  make  further  comment  necessary.     The  follow- 


60  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

ing  account  of  the  steps  by  which  a  recent  writer  of  a  systematic 
theology  reached  what  he  calls  his  racial  theory  of  the  atonement 
will  indicate  the  kinship  existing  between  the  answering 
of  the  prayer  for  regeneration  and  subconscious  activity  in 
general:  "For  six  years  (preceded  by  twelve  years  of  double 
attitude)  I  tried  to  preserve  these  three  important  qualities  (of 
the  three  great  historic  theories  of  the  atonement)  by  the  meth- 
od of  eclectic  synthesis;  but  the  result  was  so  mechanical  that  I 
was  at  last  obliged  to  throw  it  away.  I  had  become  hopeless, 
when  there  suddenly  came  to  me  a  vision  of  the  full  meaning  of 
the  human  race.  This  vision  not  only  vitalized,  but  actually 
transformed,  my  entire  theological  situation.  I  saw  not  merely 
the  atonement,  but  every  doctrine,  and  the  total  combination  of 
doctrine,  in  a  new  light.  From  that  supreme  hour  (on  one  of 
the  hills  near  Marburg)  my  one  aim  has  been  to  get  that  racial 
vision  into  living  expression."^ 

In  his  dire  extremity  the  seeker,  feeling  that  further  strain- 
ing would  be  useless,  ceases  to  struggle  and  at  once  experiences  a 
sense  of  pardon  and  deliverance  from  sin,  together  with  a  sense  of 
oneness  and  unity  with  God  or  Christ.  We  have  seen  that  cessa- 
tion of  conscious  effort  dissolves  any  conflict  which  may  have 
developed  in  the  course  of  the  interac- 
tion between  the  subconscious  activities 
Surrender  and  the  activity  of  the  will.     Before  the 

in  Conversion  new  self  can  blossom  into  consciousness 

all  opposition  to  the  subconscious  proc- 
esses must  be  withdrawn.  As  examples 
of  self-surrender  followed  by  the  functioning  of  the  new  self 
the  experiences  of  Carlyle  and  John  Wesley  may  suffice.  After 
a  long  period  of  mental  anguish  and  three  weeks  of  total  sleep- 
lessness Carlyle  "authentically  took  the  Devil  by  the  nose,"  and 
thus  addressed  himself,  "What  art  thou  afraid  of  ?  Wherefore, 
like  a  coward,  dost  thou  forever  pip  and  whimper  and  go  cower- 
ing and  trembling  ?  Despicable  biped !  What  is  the  sum  total 
of  the  worst  that  lies  before  thee?  Death?  Well,  Death:  and  say 


^O.  A.  Curtis,  The  Christian  Faith,  p.  316. 


The  Answer  to  Prayer  61 

the  pangs  of  Tophet  too,  and  all  the  Devil  and  Man  may,  will, 
or  can  do  against  thee.  Hast  thou  not  a  heart;  canst  thou  not 
suffer  whatever  it  be;  and,  as  a  child  of  freedom,  though  out- 
cast, trample  Tophet  itself  under  thy  feet,  while  it  consumes 
thee?  Let  it  come  then;  I  will  meet  it  and  defy  it.  And  as  I 
so  thought  there  rushed  like  a  stream  of  fire  over  my  whole  soul ; 
and  I  shook  base  fear  away  from  me  forever.  I  was  strong,  of 
unknown  strength,  a  spirit,  almost  a  god.  Ever  from  that  time 
the  temper  of  misery  was  changed ;  not  fear  or  whining  sorrow 
was  it,  but  indignation  and  grim-eyed  Defiance  *  *  *  It  is 
from  this  hour  that  I  incline  to  date  my  spiritual  new-birth  or 
baphometic  fire-baptism;  perhaps  I  directly  thereupon  began  to 
be  a  man"^  Wesley's  experience  may  be  regarded  as  a  some- 
what more  normal  type.  For  years  he  strove  toward  deliv- 
erance from  a  divided  self.  Reluctantly  attending  a  little 
meeting  of  a  few  pious  souls  met  for  prayer  and  Bible  study,  he 
found  peace  while  someone  was  reading  Luther's  preface  to  St. 
Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  Wesley  himself  says,  "About  a 
quarter  before  nine,  while  he  was  describing  the  change  which 
God  works  in  the  heart  through  faith  in  Christ,  I  felt  my  heart 
strangely  warmed.  I  felt  that  I  did  trust  in  Christ,  Christ  alone, 
for  salvation ;  and  an  assurance  was  given  me  that  he  had  taken 
away  my  sins,  even  mine,  and  saved  me  from  the  law  of  sin  and 
death."  Both  Carlyle  and  Wesley  exercised  the  will  in  the  direc- 
tion of  a  more  victorious  self  until  the  old  foundations  of  life 
became  so  insecure  and  shaken  that  they  finally  cast  themselves 
without  reservation  upon  the  deeper-lying  self  ready  to  assert 
itself.  The  unification  of  consciousness,  the  healing  of  the 
breach  created  by  the  opposition  between  the  old  self  and  the 
ideal  self,  the  functioning  of  a  wider,  more  competent  person- 
ality, relieved  the  strain  and  tension,  and  evoked  a  sense  of  deep 
peace. 

Analogous  cases  of  the  subconscious  reporting  to  conscious- 
ness and  resulting  satisfaction  when  an  attitude  of  inactivity  and 
receptivity  is  assumed  are  so  numerous  that  a  selection  is  em- 

^See  Sartor  Resartus. 


62  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

barrassing.  Of  the  two  following  examples  the  first  emphasizes 
the  cessation  of  conscious  effort,  and  the  second  the  sense  of 
relief.  It  occurred  to  Mr.  F.  H.  Wen- 
ham,  an  amateur  optician,  that  the  bi- 
Analogous  Cases  nocular  microscope  devised  by  M.  Na- 
chet  might  be  improved  by  means  of  a 
prism  of  a  certain  shape.  "He  thought 
of  this  a  great  deal,  without  being  able  to  hit  upon  the  form  of 
prism  which  would  do  what  was  required ;  and  as  he  was  going 
into  business  as  an  engineer,  he  put  his  microscopic  studies  en- 
tirely aside  for  more  than  a  fortnight,  attending  only  to  his 
other  affairs.  One  evening,  after  his  day's  work  was  done, 
and  'while  he  was  reading  a  stupid  novel,'  thinking  nothing 
whatever  of  his  microscope,  the  form  of  the  prism  that  should 
answer  the  purpose  flashed  into  his  mind.  He  fetched  his 
mathematical  instruments,  drew  a  diagram  of  it,  and  worked  out 
the  angles  which  would  be  required ;  the  next  morning  he  made 
his  prism,  and  found  that  it  answered  perfectly  well ;  and  it  has 
been  on  this  plan  that  all  the  'binoculars'  hitherto  in  ordinary 
use  in  this  country  have  been  since  constructed."^  Note  the 
element  of  satisfaction  and  elation  in  the  following  account  of 
the  discovery  of  the  method  of  quaternions.  Its  author.  Sir.  W. 
Rowan  Hamilton,  writes:  ''Tomorrow  will  be  the  fifteenth 
birthday  of  the  Quaternions.  They  started  into  life  or  light, 
full-grown,  on  the  16th  of  October,  1843,  as  I  was  walking  with 
Lady  Hamilton  to  Dublin,  and  came  up  to  Brougham  Bridge. 
That  is  to  say,  I  then  and  there  felt  the  galvanic  circuit  of 
thought  close ;  and  the  sparks  which  fell  from  it  were  the  funda- 
mental equations  between  i,  j,  k;  exactly  such  as  I  have  used 
them  ever  since.  I  pulled  out,  on  the  spot,  a  pocket-book, 
which  still  exists,  and  made  an  entry,  on  which,  at  the  very  mo- 
mentj  I  felt  that  it  might  be  worth  my  while  to  expend 
the  labor  of  at  least  ten  (or  it  might  be  fifteen)  years  to  come. 
But  then  it  is  fair  to  say  that  this  was  because  I  felt  a  problem 
to  have  been  at  that  moment  solved. — an  intellectual  want  re- 


^W.  B.  Carpenter,  Mental  Physiology,  p.  538. 


The  Answer  to  Prayer  63 

lieved, — which  had  haunted  me  for  at  least  fifteen  years  be- 
ore  ^ 

It  may  confirm  the  contention  that  the  answer  to  the  prayer 
for  regeneration  is  a  subconscious  product  to  point  out  that  con- 
version is  not  peculiar  to  Christianity,  that  it  is  a  universal 
phenomenon.  As  examples  of  conversions  other  than  Christian 
we  shall  note  the  experience  of  Buddha  and  that  of  the  Sioux 
Indian  of  the  Omaha  tribe.  At  twenty-nine  Buddha,  hunger- 
ing for  the  higher  values,  made  his  great  renunciation,  leaving 
his  beloved  wife,  infant  son,  and  magnificent  home.  After  sev- 
en years  of  what  seemed  to  be  hopeless  and  fruitless  searching 
"one  night,  the  old  traditions  relate,  the  decisive  turning  point 
came,  the  moment  wherein  was  vouchsafed  to  the  seeker  the  cer- 
tainty of  discovery.  Sitting  under  the  tree,  since  then  named 
the  Tree  of  Knowledge,  he  went  through  successively  purer  and 
purer  stages  of  abstraction  of  consciousness,  until  the  sense  of 
omniscient  illumination  came  over  him  *  *  *  'When  I  appre- 
hended this,'  he  is  reported  to  have  said,  'and  when  I  beheld  this, 
my  soul  was  released  from  the  evil  of  desire,  released  from  the 
evil  of  terror,  released  from  the  evil  of  ignorance.  In  the  re- 
leased awoke  the  knowledge  of  the  release:  extinct  is  re-birth, 
finished  the  sacred  course,  duty  done,  no  more  shall  I  return  to 
this  world ;  this  I  know."^  Among  the  Sioux  Indians  the  adoles- 
cent boy  is  sent  forth  upon  some  hill  to  cry  to  Wakonda  without 
asking  for  anything  in  particular.  "By  training  his  mind  and 
body  for  days,  the  Sioux  boy  expels  from  his  mind  concepts  dis- 
cordant with  this  course  of  action.  He  fills  his  mind  with  the 
pictures  of  heroes ;  these  heroes  are  the  animals ;  and  their  deeds 
are  examples  of  life  *  *  *  Moistened  earth  is  put  upon  his  head 
and  face,  a  small  bow  and  arrows  are  given  him.  He  seeks  a 
secluded  spot  on  some  high  hill;  and  under  the  pines  he  chants 
the  prayer ;  he  lifts  to  heaven  his  hands  wet  with  tears  and  then 
lays  them  on  the  earth ;  he  fasts,  until  at  last  after  some  days  he 
falls  into  a  sleep  or  trance.     If  in  his  dream  or  trance  he  hear 

^Cited  in  ibid.,  p.  537,  also  in  E.  D.  Starbuck,  The  Psy- 

chology  of  Religion,  p.  110. 
^H.  Oldenberg,  Buddha,  p.  107. 


64  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

or  see  anything,  that  thing  is  to  become  the  special  mediator 
through  which  he  receives  aid.  Then,  the  ordeal  over,  the 
youth  returns  for  food  and  rest.  No  one  questions  him,  but  at 
the  end  of  four  days  he  confides  his  vision  to  some  old  man,  and 
starts  to  find  the  animal  he  has  seen  in  his  trance.  The  totem  is 
the  symbol  of  this  animal  *  *  *  By  it  his  natural  pov^ers  are  to 
be  re-inforced  so  as  to  give  him  success  as  a  hunter,  victory  as  a 
warrior,  and  even  ability  to  see  into  the  future."^ 

A  sense  of  incompleteness,  a  narrowing  of  the  field  of  con- 
sciousness, a  straining  after  deliverance,  and  an  automatic  reali- 
zation of  the  new  self,  are  common  to  all  forms  of  conversion. 
The  various  forms  of  answers  to  prayer  for  a  re-birth  of  the  self 
and  their  parallel  cases  in  the  field  of  subconscious  phenomena 
betray  essential  likenesses,  and  warrant  the  conclusion  that  all 

are  of  the  same  general  nature.     This 

does  not  imply  that  there  is  no  differ- 
Essential  Resem-  ence  between  a  conversion  and  the 
blances  in  All  solution  of    a     mathematical     problem 

Conversions  and  during  sleep,  or  between  the  conversion 

Their  Parallels  of  a  Christian  and  a  Sioux  Indian.  The 

difference  is  one  of  ideas  held  in  mind. 

This  ideal  in  mind  tends  to  express  it- 
self regardless  of  its  nature.  The  kind  of  conversion  experi- 
enced conforms  to  the  ideas  and  ideals  impressed  upon  the  mind. 
The  ideal  of  Buddha  was  extinction;  the  ideal  of  a  Sioux  is  an 
animal ;  the  ideal  of  a  Christian  is  Jesus.  Buddha's  experience 
tended  to  conform  to  his  ideal  of  the  extinction  of  desire;  the 
experience  of  the  Sioux  boy  tends  to  conform  to  his  attention  to 
the  wild  animals ;  the  experience  of  a  Christian  tends  to  realize  a 
Christ-like  ideal.  Ideas  are  seeds  that  grow,  and  their  quality 
and  kind  determine  the  subconscious  harvest.  "Whatsoever  a 
man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap." 

As  a  rule  many  bad  habits  are  permanently  broken  through 
the  conversion  experience,  but  occasionally  a  post-conversion 
process  is  necessary  for  the  elimination   of   particularly    deeply 

^J.  H.  Woods,  The  Practice  and  Science  of  Religion,  p. 
65  ff. 


The  Answer  to  Prayer  65 

rooted  evil  habits.  Conversion  may  be  regarded  as  a  re-creation 
of  the  whole  personality,  while  the  elimination  of  a  specific  evil 
touches  only  a  part  of  the  self.  As  an  example  of  the  power  of 
prayer  to  uproot  a  bad  habit  the  fol- 
lowing case  may  prove  illuminating.  A 
The  Elimination  farmer  confesses  that  although  he  had 

of  Evil  Habits  been  soundly  converted  and  had  joined 

the  church,  he  was  still  subject  to  vio- 
lent fits  of  temper.  For  a  long  time  he 
prayed  for  self-control,  but  without  any  appreciable  result.  One 
day  a  steer  broke  through  a  fence  and,  going  into  a  corn-field, 
began  to  destroy  the  corn  standing  in  shocks.  The  rest  of  the 
cattle  were  not  long  in  following  his  lead.  By  the  dint  of  much 
labor  the  farmer  drove  the  herd  from  the  field,  but  the  vexation 
cost  him  a  paroxysm  of  rage.  Humiliated  and  penitent  that  he 
had  given  way  to  his  besetting  sin,  he  then  and  there  fell  upon 
his  knees,  and  prayed  God  to  deliver  him  from  this  evil.  While 
in  the  act  of  prayer  a  sweet,  soothing,  and  comforting  feeling 
came  stealing  over  him,  and  he  arose  from  his  knees,  realizing 
that  at  last  he  had  been  set  free.  Although  often  sorely  tried 
and  tempted  he  has  retained  self-mastery  from  that  day. 

His  conversion  was  doubtless  genuine,  but  as  to  self-control 
it  was  potential  rather  than  actual  in  its  immediate  effects. 
The  activity  of  self-control  did  not  have  time  to  become  suffi- 
ciently drilled  in  before  the  old  tendency  to  give  way  to  out- 
bursts of  temper  re-asserted  itself.  The  old  neural  paths  had 
either  not  been  wholly  assimilated  into 
the  new  and  higher  centers,  or  suffered 
The  Psychology  an  entire  atrophy  of  disuse,  and  there- 

of the  Elimination  fore  perhaps  after  the  exhilaration  of  a 
of  the  Bad  Habit  dramatic  conversion  had  subsided,  the 
former  ruling  passion  began  little  by 
little  to  re-organize  the  remnants  of  its 
functional  paths.  A  conflict  between  the  old  channels  of  dis- 
charge and  the  newly  functioning  personality  ensued.  Then 
followed  a  persistent  efEort  to  unify  consciousness  through  pray- 
er.   Attention  was  directed  to  the  vulnerable  spot  in  the  self,  a 


66  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

belief  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer  to  eliminate  the  evil  obtained, 
and  a  corresponding  growth  of  the  nervous  system  resulted. 
Complete  surrender  characterized  the  prayer  when  deliverance 
came.  The  casting  of  the  self  upon  God  when  conditions  were 
auspicious  opened  wide  the  way  through  which  the  energy  was 
shot  in  the  new  direction.  The  instantaneous  unification  of 
consciousness  eliminated  tension,  and  gave  rise  to  a  state  of  exal- 
tation. 

Fundamentally,  all  bad  habits  are  broken  in  the  same  way. 
Analogies  outside  the  field  of  prayer  may  be  found  in  the  use 
of  hypnotic  suggestion  for  the  purpose  of  eliminating  evil. 
Alcoholism,  lying,  cowardice,  kleptomania,  sexual  disorders,  and 
other  defects  of  character  have  been  successfully  treated  by  ex- 
perimenters in  hypnotism.^     The  elimi- 

_,  T^,.  .  .  nation  of  evil  through  prayer  and  the 
The  lirlimination  ,  .  i-  i    j    i         i    u 

^  -r^   .,  r^,  ,  same  thmg  accomplished  through  hyp- 

of  Evil  Through  ^    .  ,     .•    i   •     .1    • 

.  °  notic  suggestion   are  identical  in  their 

^  ^^        .  important   respects.     Both    involve      a 

Suggestion  ,   .  .    .  ^        . 

^^  mental  impression  and    its     automatic 

realization.  Note  the  following  paral- 
lel: "Dr.  W.  E.  Harlow  hypnotized  a  young  man  who  was 
addicted  to  cigarette  smoking.  In  the  hypnotic  condition  he 
told  the  young  man  that  if  he  ever  smoked  again  it  would  make 
him  sick.  He  had  the  subject  repeat:  'If  I  smoke  it  will 
make  me  sick.  I  will  vomit.'  The  next  day  when  he  lighted 
his  cigarette  he  became  sick  instantly  and  vomited.  He  gave  up 
the  habit  of  smoking."^ 

The  phenomenal  growth  of  many  varieties  of  cults  based 
on  a  more  or  less  occult  method  of  healing  diseases  is  an  eloquent 


^See  Thirty  Authors,  Hypnotism  and  Hypnotic  Suggestion, 

p.  227  ff. 
^J.  V.  Coombs,  Religious  Delusions,  p.  138. 


The  Answer  to  Prayer  67 

testimony  to  the  fundamental  desire  for  the  fullness  of  physical 
life.     The  deep  concern  for  physical  efficiency  is  often  expressed 
in  the  prayer  for  the  cure  of  disease. 
As  an  example  of  the  curative  power  of 
Prayers  for  prayer  take  the  case  of  a  young  mother 

the  Cure  who  recovered  from  blood-poisoning  in 

of  Disease  answer  to  her  petition.     The  ailment 

was  incidental  to  confinement,  and 
threatened  to  prove  fatal  despite  the 
skill  of  the  attending  physician  and  the  power  of  earnest  prayer. 
When  the  physician  had  given  her  up,  she  resigned  herself  to 
what  she  believed  to  be  the  inevitable  and  took  leave  of  her  hus- 
band and  friends.  By  mistake  the  nurse  in  attendance  placed 
upon  the  abdominal  organs  of  the  patient  a  cloth  saturated  with 
turpentine  instead  of  the  witch-hazel  prescribed  by  the  physi- 
cian. The  application  caused  excruciating  pain,  but  from  that 
hour  the  patient  began  to  mend.  Both  husband  and  wife  at- 
tributed the  cure  to  prayer  answered  through  the  seeming  blun- 
der of  the  nurse. 

A  practicing  physician  assures  the  writer  that  the  applica- 
tion of  the  cloth  soaked  with  turpentine  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  cure.  On  closer  inspection  one  is  led  to  conclude  that  the 
cure  was  due  to  certain  elements  of  suggestion  common  to  all 
forms  of  mental  healing.  The  prayer 
for  health  was  introduced  into  the 
Factors  Common  mind.  In  all  the  varieties  of  faith  cure 
to  All  we  find  a  restriction  of  consciousness  to 

Faith  Cures  the   idea   of   health.     The   Emmanuel 

Movement  insists  that  the  patient  ban- 
ish all  thought  of  disease  and  concen- 
trate the  mind  on  the  idea  of  health.^  Christian  Science  goes 
so  far  as  to  declare  the  non-existence  of  disease  itself.^  In  the 
above  case  there  was  a  faith  straining  in  the  direction  of  health. 
It  is  an  undisputed  fact  in  mental  therapeutics  that  the  firm 

^See  E.  Worcester,  Religion  and  Medicine, 
^See  M.  B.  Eddy,  Science  and  Health, 


68  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

expectation  of  the  cure  is  Indispensable  to  its  realization.  Dr. 
H.  H.  Goddard  found  that  in  all  forms  of  mental  healing  there 
is  the  same  underlying  principle  that  the  idea  of  health  tends  to 
produce  health  in  proportion  to  the  strength  of  the  idea.^  So  far 
as  the  cure  itself  is  concerned  it  does  not  matter  what  particular 
power  is  appealed  to  and  believed  in  so  long  as  there  is  an  un- 
shaken faith  that  health  will  be  restored.  Faith  in  the  curative 
power  of  the  royal  touch  is  as  effective  as  faith  in  a  fragment  of 
the  true  cross.  Furthermore,  it  is  significant  that  the  patient 
began  to  improve  when  she  ceased  to  struggle  for  health.  Doubt- 
less the  act  of  resigning  herself  to  what  she  believed  to  be  the 
approach  of  death  was  in  fact  a  form  of  self-surrender  whic^ 
loosened  fresh  springs  of  vitality  strong  enough  to  withstand 
the  onslaught  of  the  poisonous  elements,  and  to  discharge  them 
through  the  excretory  organs  or  to  absorb  them.  The  idea  of 
health  held  in  mind,  believed  in,  and  automatically  realized,  is 
common  to  all  forms  of  divine  healing  and  mental  therapeutics. 
The  following  parallel  to  the  answer  to  the  prayer  for  the 
cure  of  disease  is  doubly  instructive,  for  it  shows  that  both 
health  and  disease  may  be  induced  by  the  mind,  that  suggestion 
works  both  ways.  "I  was  to  deliver  the  annual  address  before  a 
college  graduating  class.  When  I  arose  in  the  morning  I  was 
too  hoarse  to  speak.  What  must  I  do  ?  The  students  depended 
upon  me.  I  decided  to  resort  to  quinine;  went  to  a  drug  friend 
and  asked  him  for  tw€nty-five  cents' 
worth  of  two-grain  capsules.  I  went  to 
T   ^      •        Tu     1  V.  "^y  room  and  began  to  take  the  capsules 

^  ^  every   fifteen   minutes.     In   two   hours 

.        my  cold  was  breaking;  I    could     talk 
^     ^  ^^  some,  and  I  was  wet  with  perspiration. 

I  became  alarmed  and  told  my  attend- 
ant to  examine  the  capsules  to  see  if 
there  were  two  grains  in  them.     On  examination  the  capsules 
were  found  to  be  empty.     The  druggist  thought  I  wanted  to 
fill  the  capsules  myself.     I  had  taken  no  quinine,  but  my  cold 

'^Amer.  Jour.  Psych.,  Vol.  x,  p.  431  ff. 


The  Answer  to  Prayer  69 

was  cured,  and  I  delivered  my  address  *  *  *  When  I  related 
my  experience  with  the  empty  capsules  in  a  lecture  at  Lorain,  O., 
two  sisters  were  much  amused.  They  came  to  me  and  told  me 
this  story:  The  nurse  prepared  some  capsules  for  the  two  sis- 
ters who  were  sick;  one  was  cured,  and  the  other  was  made  sick 
by  the  nasty  bitter  quinine.  By  mistake  they  had  taken  the 
empty  capsules."^ 

With  reference  to  the  influence  of  suggestion  in  the  cure 
of  disease  Professor  C.  E.  Seashore  points  out  four  groups  of 
cases  in  which  it  is  more  or  less  effective.^  1.  Functional  dis- 
eases like  gastric  and  nervous  disorders.  These  may  be  directly 
cured  through  suggestion.  2.  Organic  diseases.  These  may 
be  ameliorated  through  suggestion,  as  when  pain  is  relieved.  A 
crisis  in  an  organic  disease  may  be  successfully  passed  through 
the  influence  of  suggestion.  3.  Diseases  which  heal  without  any 
specific  treatment,  like  typhoid  and  pneumonia.  Here  suggestion 
may  be  a  tonic.  4.  Surgical  cases.  In  addition  to  creating  an 
atmosphere  of  good  cheer,  suggestion 
serves  as  an  anaesthetic  in  surgical  oper- 

rjy,     r>       .  e  ations.    The  case  of  St.  Augustine,  who 

The  Province  of  ,.       ,     .   ,  ,     f    • 

■niT   J-     1  »*•   J-  •  was  relieved  of  the  toothache  m  answer 

Medical  Medicine  .     ,     ,.        ,  ,       , 

to  prayer,  is  duplicated  by  the  experi- 
ence of  Professor  Coe,  who  underwent  a 
painless  dental  operation  as  a  result  of 
auto-suggestion.  In  a  word,  functional  diseases  may  be  directly 
and  permanently  cured  by  suggestion  alone,  while  organic  dis- 
turbances may  find  it  auxiliary.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the 
prayer  for  the  cure  of  disease  transcends  the  limits  of  suggestion. 
A  medical  practitioner  recently  remarked  to  the  writer  that  if 
prayer  could  always  cure  us,  none  of  us  would  ever  die.  In 
their  attempts  to  establish  their  claims  that  organic  diseases  and 
cases  usually  referred  to  the  surgeon  are  curable  by  faith,  the 
advocates  of  an  extreme  form  of  divine  healing  have  displayed 
more  zeal  than  knowledge.     The  alleged  proofs  for  the  validity 


J.  V.  Coombs,  Religious  Delusions,  pp.  141-142. 
^'Lectures  on  Psychology,  (unpublished). 


70  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

of  their  so-called  test  cases  have  been  uniformly  exploded  when 
scientists  have  examined  them. 

As  an  example  of  the  lack  of  scientific  precision  w^hich  gen- 
erally obtains  in  the  collecting  of  test-cases  revealing  evidences 
of  supernatural  healing,  Mr.  Coombs  quotes  the  follovs^- 
ing  case  cited  v^ith  approval  by  Dr.  A.  J.  Gordon  in  his  book, 
The  Mystery  of  Healing:  "A  boy 
of  ten  years  of  age  fell  and  broke  his 
A  Test  Case  arm.     A  surgeon  was  called,  and  the 

Critically  arm  was  bandaged.    The  next  morning 

Examined  the  boy  said  to  his  father :    'Please  take 

off  these  bandages,  my  arm  is  well.' 
'Oh  no,  my  son,  you  will  have  to  wear 
the  splints  for  several  weeks.'  'Papa,  do  you  believe  in  prayer? 
Last  night  I  asked  Jesus  to  cure  my  arm  and  He  did  it.'  To 
please  the  boy  the  bandage  was  removed,  and  the  arm  was  abso- 
lutely well."  The  case  was  widely  regarded  as  a  remarkable  in- 
stance of  answer  to  prayer,  but  on  scientific  investigation  was 
found  to  be  spurious.  The  boy  whose  arm  was  broken  is  now  a 
physician  and  diagnoses  the  case  as  follows:  "The  broken  arm 
was  only  a  green-stick  fracture  of  the  forearm,  and  after  having 
it  bandaged  for  several  days  the  splints  were  removed  to  please  a 
spoiled  boy.  The  bone  would  have  united  in  a  few  days  of  its 
own  accord.  After  the  splints  were  removed,  the  arm  was 
carried  for  several  days  in  a  sling.  This  is  the  miracle.  Some 
religious  enthusiast  started  the  story.  I  am  that  boy,  and  do 
not  crave  this  notoriety.  CARL  H.  REED."^ 

As  to  the  relative  merits  of  the  various  forms  of  faith  cure, 
let  two  authorities  speak:  Jr.  T.  B.  Hyslop,  a  specialist  in 
nervous  disorders,  says,  "I  would  state  that  of  all  hygienic  meas- 
ures to  counteract  disturbed  sleep,  depressed  spirits,  and  all  the 
miserable  sequels  of  a  distressed  mind,  I  would  undoubtedly 
give  the  first  place  to  the  simple  habit  of  prayer."^     Dr.  H.  H. 


'^Religious  Delusions^  pp.  147-148. 
^Outlook,  Vol.  Ixxxi,  p.  110. 


The  Answer  to  Prayer  71 

Goddard,  who  has  made  a  special  study  of  faith  cures,  has  this 
to  say:     "Religion  has  in  it  all  there  is  in  mental  therapeutics, 
and  has  it  in  its  best  form.     It  teaches 
temperance  in  the  broadest  sense,  high 
The  Relative  ideals  and  a  dependence  upon  the  High- 

Merits  of  est   alone.     This   preserves   those   who 

Faith  Cures  know  it,  by  practice  as  well  as  by  pre- 

cept, from  most  of  the  ills  that  make  up 
the  list  of  those  curable  by  mental 
methods.  But  further,  it  teaches  a  wise  submission  to  the  inevi- 
table, a  freedom  from  care  and  worry,  and  the  spirit  of  hopeful- 
ness. And  these  are  the  exact  conditions  aimed  at  in  all  mental 
practices."^ 

Passing  on  to  another  form  of  prayer,  let  us  examine  the 
answer  to  the  petition  for  divine  guidance  in  perplexing  situa- 
tions.    The  answers  to  this  type  of  prayer  range  all  the  way 
from  mental  repose  and  poise  which  enable  the  person  to  solve 
his  problems  successfully    through    the 
ordinary  processes  of  reasoning  or  the 

—»,      T-»  e  regulating  of  the  usual  motor  activities. 

The  Prayer  for  ,     ,  •  ,  .„      .      . 

T^.    .       r*    .J  or  both,  to  an  mward  illummation  com- 

Divine  Guidance  .         •  I    ^^   y_    c  r     i-  •  i 

mg  with  all  the  lorce  oi  a  divme  revela- 
tion. In  many  cases  conscious  intellec- 
tion or  physical  activity,  or  a  combina- 
tion of  both,  utterly  fails  to  find  a  way  out  of  a  difficulty.  It 
not  infrequently  happens  that  what  conscious  effort  alone  fails 
to  accomplish  is  successfully  done  through  the  co-operation  of 
the  subconscious. 

.Jjl_many^  cases  mental  poise  attained  in  answer  to  prayer 
is^he  chief  condition  necessary  to  proper  readjustment  of  the 
Jig4ividual  in  a  predicament.  A  respondent  writes,  "Many  times 
prayer  calms  the  heart  and  mind  so  that  the  person  can  think  of  a 
way."  To  believe  that  the  prayer  for  divine  guidance  will  be 
answered  inspires  the  individual  with  a  confidence  that  banishes 
all  fear  and  worry  and  other  mental  states  which  obscure  a  dis- 

^Amer.  Jour,  Psych.,  Vol.  x,  p.  503. 


^ 


72  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

passionate  view  of  a  difficulty  and  inhibit  any  effort  to  over- 
come it.     The  expectation  of  the  co-operation  of  a  mighty  helper 
tends  to  construct  a  personality  both  physically  and  intellectually 
competent  to  do  what  one  asks  God  to  accomplish  in  a  mys- 
terious way  for  him.     ''If  we  may  take  seriously  (and  I  suppose 
we  may)  the  Rev.  W.  A.  Sunday's  ac- 
count of  his  first  ball  game  after  his 
Mental  Poise  conversion,   prayer   played   a   consider- 
Through  Prayer  able  part  in  his  success.     A  difficult  fly 
came  to  him  in  the  field  at  a  very  criti- 
cal point  in  the  game  *   *  *  'It  was  up 
to  me.     I  turned  and  ran  with  all  my  might  and  said,  O  God ! 
If  you  ever  helped  a  mortal  man  in  your  life,  help  me  get  that 
ball,  and  you  haven't  much  time  to  decide.     I  looked  over  my 
shoulder  and  saw  the  ball  near — I  shot  out  my  left  hand,  and 
the  ball  struck  and  stuck.'  "^     Perhaps  the    answer     to     this 
prayer  was  a  release  from  hindering  tendencies,  a  deliverance 
giving  him  an  opportunity  to  answer  his  own  petition  by  taking 
advantage  of  effective  motor  control. 

As  an  example  of  subconscious  activity  exploded  into  con- 
sciousness with  the  force  of  a  vision,  the  following  case  is  in- 
teresting: A  lady  who  lives  in  the  West  relates  that  a  few 
years  ago  she  received  a  telegram  stating  that  her  mother  who 
resided  in  the  East  was  critically  ill  and  that  recovery  was  ex- 
tremely doubtful.  Strange  to  say,  she  could  arrive  at  no  defi- 
nite decision  whether  to  remain  at  home  or  to  hasten  to  her 
mother's  sick-bed.  On  the  one  hand,  she  had  to  consider  that  at 
that  time  she  was  entertaining  friends,  that  she  was  burdened 
with  many  household  duties,  and  that 
Prayer  Inducing  she  could  hardly  afford   to  make  the 

a  Revelation  expensive  journey  to  the  East.     On  the 

other  hand,  the  natural  impulse  of  a 
daughter  to  nurse  her  rriother  in  her  last  sickness  seemed  almost 
irresistible.  Torn  asunder  by  conflicting  thoughts,  she  made 
her  perplexity  an  object  of  prayer,  believing  that  her  plea  for 

^J.  B.  Pratt,  Amer.  Jour.  Relig.  Psych.,  Vol.  iv,  p.  58. 


The  Answer  to  Prayer  73 

divine  guidance  would  be  answered.  A  few  days  later  while 
washing  dishes  and  occupying  her  mind  with  matters  foreign  to 
prayer,  it  became  clear  to  her  in  a  vivid  flash  of  insight  that  it 
was  her  duty  to  remain  at  home,  entertaining  her  guests,  caring 
for  her  household,  and  saving  her  money.  She  rested  content 
in  the  thought  that  near  relatives  in  the  East  would  give  her 
mother  the  best  of  care.  The  problem  solved,  she  regained  her 
poise.  It  is  evident  that  this  prayer  is  describable  in  terms  of 
auto-suggestion,  for  we  see  in  it  a  narrowing  of  the  field  of  con- 
sciousness, a  period  of  subconscious  incubation,  a  sudden  report 
of  the  subconscious  when  an  attitude  of  passivity  was  assumed. 

The  following  experience  is  analogous :  "When  at  school, 
I  was  fond  of  trying  my  hand  at  geometrical  problems.  One 
baffled  me.  I  often  returned  to  it,  in  fact  kept  by  me  an  elabo- 
rate figure.  Some  years  after,  and  when  the  problem  had  not 
been  touched  by  me  for  some  time,  I 
had  been  sitting  up  till  the  small  hours, 
Subconscious  deciphering  a  crytograph  for  one  of  my 

Solution  of  a  pupils.    Exulting  in  the  successful  solu- 

Geometrical  tion,  I  turned  into  bed;  and  suddenly 

Problem  there  flashed  across  my  mind  the  secret 

of  the  solution  of  the  problem  I  had  so 
long  vainly  dealt  with,  this  secret  be- 
ing a  slight  addition  to  my  elaborate  figure.     The  effect  on  me 
was  strange.     I  trembled,  as  if  in  the  presence  of  another  being 
who  had  communicated  the  secret  to  me."^ 

Sometimes  the  answer  to  the  prayer  for  divine  guidance  is 
in  the  form  of  visions  and  voices,  and  other  hallucinations.  A 
friend  relates  that  his  young  child  was  sick  unto  death  and  that 
the  physician  had  pronounced  the  case  hopeless.  In  his  deep  dis- 
tress the  father  prayed  that  the  life  of 
the  child  be  spared.  One  can  imagine 
Hallucinations  the   despair  and  mental   depression  of 

in  Prayer  the  parent.     One  morning    when     he 

was  shoveling  coal  into  the  furnace  in 
basement  of  the  house,  he  heard  a  voice 
saying,  "Fear  not!"    These  words  comforted  him  immeasurably. 

^W.  B.  Carpenter,  Mental  Physiology,  p.  536. 


74  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

The  case  bears  the  essentials  of  auto-suggestion.  No  doubt  the 
subconscious  responded  in  terms  of  an  auditory  experience  to  the 
attention  to  the  prayer  and  the  one-sided  mental  activity. 

An  analogous  case  is  the  experience  of  Socrates  and  his 

Daimon.     It  will  be  recalled  that  throughout  his  entire  life  he 

was  on  certain  occasions  conscious  of  a  voice,  a  divine  sign,  which 

he  called  his  Daimon.     "It  assumed  for  him  from  the  beginning 

the  appearance  of  a  foreign  influence,  a 

higher  revelation,  an  oracle."^     It  exer- 

The  Daimon  cised  a  restraining  and  negative  influ- 

of  Socrates  ence,  for  it  did  not  manifest  itself  when 

an  apparently  proper  course  of  action 

was  being  pursued.    To  hold  in  mental 

focus  an  idea  of  ethical  content  was  characteristic  of  him;  he 

was  known  to  have  been  absorbed  in  contemplation  all  day  long. 

"What  distinguished  Socrates  in  his  general  conduct  from  his 

fellow-citizens  was  his  power  of  inward  concentration."^     His 

absolute  confidence  in  the  reliability  of  the  Daimon  was  in  reality 

the  casting  of  himself  upon  a  deeper-lying  self,  in  response  to 

which  there  rushed  up  from  the  currents  of  the  subconscious 

ethical  insight  in  terms  of  an  auditory  experience. 

Perhaps  the  form  of  the  hallucination  is  largely  determined 
by  the  type  or  types  of  mental  imagery  predominating  in  the 
individual.  Doubtless  both  the  person  who  was  comforted  by 
the  words  "fear  not"  and  Socrates  were  ear-minded,  and  hence 
an  auditory  hallucination.  Where  the  visual  type  of  mental 
imagery  is  more  prominent  than  any 
other,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  the 
Types  of  Mental  answer  to  the  prayer  for  help  and  corn- 

Imagery  and  fort  in  a  trying  situation,  coming  in  the 

Temperament  in  form  of  a  hallucination,  will  be  a  vision. 

Hallucinations  Where  both  the  visual  and  the  auditory 

types  are  found   together  in  the  same 
person,  the  hallucination  is  likely  to  be 
influenced  by  both.     St.  Paul  on  his  way  to  Damascus  saw  a 

^E.  Zeller,  Socrates  and  the  Socratic  School,  p.  95. 
2Ibid.,  p.  97. 


The  Answer  to  Prayer  75 

vision  and  heard  a  voice.  In  this  connection  it  is  well  to  note 
that  Professor  Coe  in  an  inductive  study  of  the  influence  of  tem- 
perament in  religion,  finds  that  those  who  have  hallucinations  in 
connection  with  their  religious  life  are  subject  to  them  in  other 
respects.  Where  there  is  a  predisposition  to  hallucination  in 
general  there  are  likely  to  be  hallucinations  in  the  religious  life. 
One  is  tempted  to  infer  that  the  hallucinations  coming  in  re- 
sponse to  prayer  and  those  experienced  in  general  are  at  bottom 
of  a  piece.  This  is,  however,  not  the  place  to  offer  an  extended 
description  of  hallucination,  but  merely  to  point  out  that  the 
sanguine  and  meloncholic  temperaments  accompanied  as  they 
are  by  an  abundance  of  emotion  and  a  high  degree  of  suggesti- 
bility have  a  decided  tendency  to  hallucinations  both  religious 
and  non-religious.^  Where  favorable  temperamental  conditions, 
concentration  of  the  attention  upon  certain  groups  of  ideas,  and 
expectation  obtain,  the  hallucination  is  usually  forthcoming.^ 

Before  bringing  the  discussion  of  this  class  of  prayers  to  a 
close  it  will  be  necessary  to  take  into  serious  account  so-called 
objective  answers  to  prayer.  Many  well-intentioned  persons 
maintain  that  they  obtain  answers  to  prayer  for  things  over 
which  man  has  no  control.  The  writer  must  confess  that  he 
has  yet  to  find  a  case  of  this  kind  which  can  stand  a  scientific 
test.     Lapse  of  memory,  unintentional  exaggeration,  coincidence, 

the   fallacy    of     accommodating     and 

adapting  a  prayer  to  some  event  which 
Objective  resembles  the  answer  desired,  are  some 

Answers  of  the  factors  which  account  for  what 

is  interpreted   as  an  objective  answer. 

The  average  man  is  a  notoriously  in- 
competent observer  in  all  fields  other  than  those  in  whicn  he  has 
been  trained.  When  the  critical  faculties  are  held  in  abeyance, 
bias  and  prejudice,  expectation  and  preconception,  gain  the  upper 
hand,  and  the  sources  of  error  are  ignored.  The  frequent  coin- 
cidences, which  lead  many  to  believe  that  objective  answers  to 
prayer  are  obtained,  are  doubtless  the  result  of  interest  and  ex- 

iSee  G.  A.  Coe,  The  Spiritual  Life,  p.  104  ff. 
^See  E.  Parish,  Hallucinations  and  Illusions, 


76  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

pectation.  The  tendency  is  to  invest  coincidental  experiences 
with  power  to  influence  belief  and  conduct.  "It  is  only  neces- 
sary to  become  deeply  interested  in  coincidences,  to  look  about 
with  eyes  open  and  eager  to  detect  them,  in  order  to  discover 
them  on  all  sides;  resolve  to  record  all  that  come  to  hand,  and 
they  seem  to  multiply  until  you  can  regard  yourself  and  your 
friends  as  providentially  favored  in  this  direction."^  The  fol- 
lowing may  serve  as  an  example  of  so-called  objective  answers 
to  prayer : 

Mr.  H.  C.  Trumbull  relates  that  when  he  was  superin- 
tendent of  a  mission  school  he  and  his  teachers  determined  to 
take  a  sleigh-ride  on  Christmas  morning  to  the  state  prison, 
where  they  proposed  to  conduct  religious  services  and  visit  a 
former  pupil  who  was  incarcerated  for  arson.  In  the  course  of  a 
meeting  called  to  make  the  necessary 
arrangements  a  teacher  suggested  that 
A  So-called  possibly  there  would  be  no  snow-fall  on 

Objective  Answer  or  before  Christmas  and  in  that  case  all 
plans  would  come  to  naught.  Their 
leader,  Mr.  Trumbull,  ventured  to  say 
that  since  they  were  in  God's  special  service  and  had  renewedly 
prayed  for  guidance  in  their  plans,  they  might  with  perfect  con- 
fidence trust  God  to  do  his  part.  Returning  home  from  the 
meeting,  he  realized  the  delicacy  of  the  position  he  had  taken, 
and  fell  upon  his  knees  to  ask  for  help  and  guidance.  On  Christ- 
mas eve  he  met  his  teachers  to  complete  all  details  and,  although 
the  sky  was  star-lit  and  there  was  no  indication  that  snow  would 
cover  the  bare  earth,  they  separated  for  the  night  with  the  agree- 
ment to  meet  the  following  morning.  On  Christmas  morning 
four  inches  of  snow  covered  the  ground  and  supplied  an  excel- 
lent basis  for  sleighing.  The  proposed  sleigh-ride  was  now  a 
possibility,  and  all  plans  were  carried  out  to  the  letter.  The 
teachers  were  convinced  that  God  had  sent  the  snow  in  answer  to 
their  prayers.^     It  may  seem  ungracious  to  raise  the  following 

^J.  Jastrow,  Fact  and  Fable  in  Psychology,  p.  90. 
illustrative  Answers  to  Prayer,  p.  11  ff. 


The  Answer  to  Prayer  77 

questions:  Was  the  snowfall  contingent  upon  the  teachers' 
trust  in  God,  or  would  it  have  come  even  if  they  had  not  prayed? 
Was  there  in  reality  no  sign  of  the  coming  snow  on  Christmas 
eve,  or  might  a  meteorologist  have  detected  atmospheric  condi- 
tions presaging  it?  Was  the  incident  an  objective  answer  to 
prayer,  or  a  happy  coincidence?  The  writer  feels  no  hesitancy 
in  declaring  for  the  latter. 

That  answers  to  personal  petitional  prayer  are  subconscious 
phenomena  is  a  conclusion  one  feels  compelled  to  arrive  at  by 
way  of  the  evidence  cited  above.  Every  answer  has  its  parallel 
in  some  form  of  response  to  a  suggested  idea.  Although  the 
moral  issues  involved  in  the  conversion  of  a  Christian  are  in- 
finitely higher  than  those  involved  in  the  conversion  of  a  Buddha 
or  a  Sioux  Indian  boy,  the  same  psychological  principles  underlie 
all  the  varieties  of  conversion.  Each 
phase  of  conversion  has  its  analogy  in 
Summary  certain  mental  states  not  generally  re- 

garded as  specifically  religious.  The 
breaking  of  a  bad  habit  through  prayer 
is  duplicated  by  the  elimination  of  evil  through  hypnotic  sug- 
gestion. Divine  healing  and  mental  therapeutics  are  one  in 
their  essential  characteristics.  Praj^ers  for  guidance  are  paral- 
leled by  the  subconscious  solution  of  various  kinds  of  problems. 
The  subconscious  results  of  prayer  range  from  the  inhibition  of 
mental  states  unfavorable  to  an  adjustment,  to  a  re-birth  of  the 
self.  The  conclusion  that  there  is  an  objective  answer  to  prayer 
in  the  sense  of  a  direct  interference  with  natural  law  is  based  on 
invalid  evidence. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  ANSWER  TO  VRAYER— Continued 

As  we  have  observed  elsew^here  petitional  prayers  may  be 
divided  into  two  large  classes — those  which  are  answered 
through  the  activity  of  the  life-forces  resident  within  the  pray- 
ing personality,  and  those  which  are  answered  by  influencing 
another  self.  Thus  far  we  have  studied  the  answers  which 
come  through  the  praying  self.  The  present  task  is  to  examine 
the  large  group  of  private  prayers  which 
depend  upon  a  co-operating  self  for 
Prayers  Answered  their  answers.  A  private  prayer,  as  we 
Through  shall  directly  see,  may  become  a  social 

Another  Self  suggestion  passing  through  a  series  of 

mental  elaborations  in  the  direction  of 
the  answer.  Any  prayer  which  may  be 
answered  through  the  self  with  which  it  is  original,  may  also  be 
answered  through  a  co-operating  self.  Answers  to  the  private 
prayers  for  the  conversion  of  others,  for  the  elimination  of  the 
evils  of  others,  for  the  cure  of  the  diseases  of  others,  for  guidance 
of  others  in  trying  situations,  are  common.  Such  prayers  are 
altruistic  and  intercessory.  Many  other  prayers  answered  in 
response  to  an  appeal  to  another  individual  are  intended  for 
self-expansion,  for  personal  ends.  Social  suggestion  is  the  key 
to  the  psychological  interpretation  of  all  prayers  involving  the 
concurrent  activities  of  two  or  more  selves,  regardless  of  whether 
the  prayers  have  their  source  in  self-regard  or  altruism. 

As  an  example  of  this  class  of  prayer  let  us  examine  the 
case  of  a  superintendent  of  a  Junior  League,  who  engaged  in  pri- 
vate prayer  to  ask  for  teachers  to  instruct  the  children  under  her 
religious  supervision.  When  she  arose  from  her  knees  she  was 
convinced  that  if  she  went  into  the  street  helpers  would  be  found 
and  her  prayer  be  answered.  She  obeyed  the  impulse,  but  failed 
to  enlist  any  one  in  the  streets.  She  then  felt  moved  to  enter  a 
home  where  she  expected  to  present  the  need  of  the  Junior  League 


80  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

to  a  young  woman  with  whom  she  was  acquainted.  When  she 
was  informed  that  her  friend  was  not  at  home,  she  requested 
the  mother  to  interest  her  daughter  in  the  matter.  The  mother 
reluctantly  consented  to  inform  her  daughter  of  the  call  for  vol- 
unteer teachers,  insisting  that  the  young  woman  was  interested 
in  too  many  other  things  to  assume  the  responsibilities  of  im- 
parting religious  instruction  to  children.  Entering  another 
home,  the  superintendent  was  doomed  to  a  second  disappoint- 
ment. The  woman  solicited  refused  her  services  on  the  ground 
of  pressing  social  engagements.  The  superintendent  returned 
home  in  a  confused  state  of  mind,  for  she  had  confidently  ex- 
pected a  readier  response  to  her  appeal 
and  the  consequent  answer  to  her 
A  Case  of  prayer.     She  was,   however,    agreeably 

Prayer  as  surprised  when  after  a  few  weeks  both 

Social  Suggestion  young  women  reported  for  work  as 
teachers  in  the  Junior  League.  This 
prayer  experience  is  not  essentially  dif- 
ferent from  the  normal  process  of  social  suggestion  influencing 
the  individual  in  his  daily  life.  When  others  were  approached 
with  the  need,  the  prayer  became  a  social  suggestion.  It  is  of 
interest  to  note  that  in  the  one  case  the  interest  of  two  other 
selves  were  aroused.  The  request  was  lodged  in  the  mind  of 
one  young  woman  through  the  medium  of  the  mother  who  in- 
formed her  daughter  of  the  call  for  volunteer  teachers.  In  the 
other  case  the  need  was  introduced  into  consciousness  by  the 
superintendent  herself.  The  indirect  and  the  direct  appeals 
passed  through  a  period  of  growth,  largely  subconscious,  and 
issued  in  the  personal  response  and  active  interest. 

Thus  prayers  for  things  within  the  gift  of  others,  such  as 
store  and  time,  are  answered  by  letting  others  know  of  the  need. 
The  answer  depends  largely  upon  the  willingness  of  others  to 
respond,  upon  the  suggestibility  and  liberality  of  others.  A 
widely  quoted  illustration  of  the  power  of  prayer  to  move  others 


The  Answer  to  Prayer — Continued  81 

to  contribute  of  their  resources  to  benevolent  causes,  is  the  ex- 
perience of  George  Mueller,  who  for  many  years  conducted  an 
orphanage,   depending  solely  upon  an- 
swers to  prayer  to  supply  the  necessary 
The  Case  of  funds.     His  simple  trust  in  the  efficacy 

George  Mueller  of  prayer,  his  irreproachable  character, 

the  nature  of  the  benevolent  cause  he 
represented,  the  fact  that  it  was  gener- 
ally known  thatuthe  orphanage  was  dependent  upon  the  generos- 
ity of  the  public  for  its  support, — all  of  these  factors  made  their 
own  irresistible  appeal  to  the  friends  of  the  institution.  It  would 
be  difficult  to  imagine  circumstances  more  favorable  for  arousing 
the  social  sympathies.^ 

Prayers  of  intercession  are  answered  in  much  the  same  way 
as  are  those  for  money  or  service.  Prayers  in  behalf  of  others  tend 
to  become  social  suggestions  realizing  themselves  when  the  per- 
sons prayed  for  are  in  touch  with  the  intercession  and  respond. 
This  type  of  prayer  tends  to  beget  prayer.  The  intercession  may 
pass  through  considerable  mental  modification  and  then  give 
rise  to  personal  prayers  for  regenera- 
tion, purity  of  life  and  other  religious  in- 
The  terests.      It   has   been    implied    that    a 

Prayer  of  primary  condition  of  the  answering  of 

Intercession  this  type  of  prayer  is  that  the  person  for 

whom  intercession  is  made  have  at  least 
an  inkling  of  the  petitions  offered  in  his 
behalf.  The  influence  of  early  religious  suroundings,  the  knowl- 
edge that  somebody  is  praying  for  him,  cannot  fail  to  color  the 
life  of  the  person.  The  late  Jerry  McCauley,  for  years  the 
superintendent  of  the  Bowery  Mission  of  New  York  City,  is 
reported  to  have  said,  "I  never  yet  knew  a  man  to  be  perma- 
nently reclaimed  who  did  not  have  a  good  mother."^  A  Metho- 
dist layman  in  a  letter  to  his  son,  who  is  preparing  himself  for 
the  ministry,  says,  "You  are  our  first-born,  and  in  a  tender  mo- 

^See  George  Mueller,  The  Life  of  Trust. 
^Cited  in  F.  W.  Davenport,  Primitive  Traits  in  Religious 
Revivals  J  p.  310. 


82  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Praye?- 

ment  we  dedicated  you  to  the  ministry  in  the  church  in  which 
your  mother  was  raised  and  at  whose  altars  I  was  converted. 
*  *  *  Your  mother  and  I,  before  you  were  an  hour  old, 
prayed  that  God  would  choose  you  to  be  one  of  his  ministers. 
You  know  that  we  have  not  forced  you  to  enter  the  ministry,  or 
even  urged  you."^  The  prayer  of  dedication,  followed,  as  it 
certainly  was,  by  numberless  intercessions,  doubtless  built  itself 
into  the  son's  character  and  was  influential  in  turning  him  toward 
the  ministry. 

It  may  be  urged,  and  rightly  so,  that,  whereas  in  this  dis- 
cussion and  the  illustrations  used  there  has  been  more  or  less 
blending  of  public  and  private  prayer  and  utilizing  of  the  ordi- 
nary channels  of  communication,  countless  secret  prayers  have 
been  answered  without  the  conscious  knowledge  of  such  on  the 
part  of  the  persons  whose  co-operation  was  involved.  Without 
pausing  to  refer  some  so-called  answers 
to  misinterpretations  discussed  in  the 
Prayer  and  previous  chapters,  it  may  be  pointed  out 

Subconscious  that  while  the  co-operating  person  may 

Perception  be  wholly  unaware  of  receiving  any  tid- 

ings of  the  prayer,  the  subconscious  may 
take  note  of  impressions  imperceptible  to 
consciousness.  The  range  of  our  mental  life  is  far  more  exten- 
sive than  the  phychic  experience  of  which  we  are  aware.  It  has 
been  repeatedly  demonstrated  that  we  are  influenced  by  a  mul- 
titude of  subconscious  impressions  of  which  we  are  ignorant.  It 
may  be  well  to  refer  to  a  number  of  experiments  which  have 
revealed  the  presence  of  subconscious  perceptions. 

Experimentation  in  hypnotism  frequently  discloses  mental 
impressions  of  which  the  subject  was  unaware.  "Several  friends," 


^Robert  Allen,  Letters  of  an  Old  Methodist  to  His  Son  in 
the  Ministry,  p.  16. 


The  Answer  to  Prayer — Continued  .83 

writes  Max  Dessoir,  "were  in  my  room,  one  of  whom,  Mr.  W., 

was  reading  to  himself,  while  the  rest  of  us  were  talking  with  one 

another.     Some  one  happening  to  men- 

Subconscious  '7  f,^  "^™^  f  .^^'"-  ^^  '"  «''^°'" 

y  .  Mr.  W.  IS  much  mterested,  Mr.  W. 

•D         111.  raised  his  head  and  asked,  'What  was 

Kevealed  by  ,         ,         ,  ^r      x^  •^.     xx    , 

TT  ,•  that  about  Mr.  X.?'     He  knew  noth- 

rlypnotism  •         i         i  i  i 

mg,    he    told    us,    about   our   previous 

conversation;  he  had  only  heard  the 
familiar  name,  as  often  happens.  I  then  hypnotized  him,  with 
his  consent,  and  when  he  was  pretty  deeply  entranced  I  asked 
him  again  as  to  the  conversation.  To  our  great  astonishment, 
he  now  repeated  to  us  the  substance  of  our  whole  conversation 
during  the  time  he  was  reading  to  himself."^ 

Many  experiments,  of  which  the  following  is  an  example, 
have  revealed  the  fact  that  our  judgments  are  influenced  by 
factors   imperceptible     to    the    waking   consciousness.      *'Two 

illuminated    surfaces    were    compared 

y    ,  when    the    intensity    of    the    illumina- 

i   n  J  t  tion    differed    by    a    very    slight    yet 

Influenced  by  , ,  i  ,  •        f 

TT  •     VI  measurable    amount,    the    subject    be- 

Unrecognizable  .     ,  ,  .  ,  r 

_  .       -.  ing    required    to    state    which    sulrrace 

was  the  brighter.  The  difference  was 
so  slight  that  it  could  not  be  recog- 
nized, and  the  subject  was  therefore  compelled  to  'guess.'  The 
result  of  'guessing'  showed  that  the  brighter  was  corectly  desig- 
nated with  a  frequency  so  great  that  the  unrecognized  difference 
was  clearly  effective  in  determining  the  choice.  The  observa- 
tions have  shown  that  differences  too  small  to  be  discriminated 
may  still  influence  our  reactions,  and  it  is  thus  seen  that  among 
effective  stimuli  there  must  also  be  included  those  which  we 
do  not  recognize."^ 

Experimental  investigation  in  involuntary  whispering  has 
brought  out  the  fact  that  whenever  we  think  there  is  an  initial 


^Cited  in  Boris  Sidis,  Psychology  of  Suggestion,  p.  152. 
^Donaldson,  The  Growth  of  the  Brain,  p.  292. 


84  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

and  incipient  movement  of  the  vocal  mechanism  appropriate 
to  the  utterance  of  the  thought,  which  although  inaudible  to 
the  waking  consciousness  of  another  may  be  subconsciously  per- 
ceived. Two  experimenters  in  telepathy,  F.  C.  Hanson  and 
A.  Lehmann,  were  seated  with  backs 
toward  each  other.  Numbers  from  10 
_        .  to  99  were  taken  out  of  a  bag  in  hap- 

^__,  .         .    ^  hazard   manner  and  held   in  mind   by 

Whispering  ,    ,  ^, 

°  one   of   the   experimenters.      1  he   part 

of  the  other  was  to  state  what  number 
was  being  held  in  mind.  It  was  soon 
noticed  that  when  a  number  was  thought  of  for  some  time 
there  was  a  decided  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  vocal  muscles 
to  inervate.  Caution  was  exercised  to  keep  the  mouth  closed. 
A  bystander  insisted  that  he  heard  no  sound.  An  examination 
of  the  results  shows  that  chance  does  not  account  for  the  pro- 
portion of  correct  responses.  Doubtless  the  transference  of  the 
ideas  of  number  occurred  through  the  sense  of  hearing,  the  in- 
voluntary whispering  being  subconsciously  registered  by  the 
agent.^  Subsequent  experiments  confirm  this  conclusion.  Mr. 
H.  S.  Curtis  conducted  experiments  which  recorded  automatic 
movements  of  the  lar>'nx  when  the  Lord's  Prayer  was  men- 
tally recited.^  That  thought  is  generally,  if  not  always,  accom- 
panied by  a  jiggling  of  the  larynx,  indicating  incipient  whisper- 
ing which  the  subconscious  of  another  may  record,  seems  to 
be  well  established. 

Space  does  not  permit  a  description  of  the  experiments 
which  reveal  our  ignorance  of  the  presence  of  organic  reactions 
to  slight  stimuli,  such  as  the  afflux  of  blood  to  the  brain  during 
mental  effort,  and  of  the  automatic  movements  of  the  hands, 
head  and  body  in  the  direction  of  the  attention.^  Enough  has  been 
said  to  sustain  the  contention  that  our  feelings,  thoughts  and 
actions  are  modified  by  our  responses  to  stimuli  too  slight  to  be 

^See  W.  Wundt,  Philosophische  Studien,  Vol.  xi.,  part  4. 
^Amer.  Jour.  Psych.  Vol.  xi.,  p.  2. 

^See  J.  Jastrow,  A  Study  of  Involuntary  Movements,  in 
Fact  and  Fable  in  Psychology,  p.  307. 


The  Answer  to  Prayer — Continued  85 

consciously  recognized.    The  range  of  the  sensibility  of  the  sub- 
conscious is  not  co-extensive  with  that  of  the  waking  conscious- 
ness.    A  private  prayer  may  make  im- 
pressions   too    faint    or    indistinct    to 
Prayer  attract  the  attention  of  another  and  yet 

Involuntarily  be   subconsciously   perceived.      Neither 

Transferred  the  person  making  the  prayer  nor  the 

one  answering  it  may  be  aware  of  the 
delicate  process  of  subconscious  sense- 
perception,  or  hyperaesthesia,  and  therefore  neither  is  able  to 
account  for  the  reaction  in  terms  of  an  orderly  sequence.  When 
the  transmitter  is  not  conscious  that  the  receiver  has  perhaps 
subconsciously  taken  note  of  the  unintended  signals  of  the  prayer, 
there  is  a  natural  tendency  to  ascribe  the  answering  of  it  to  the 
miraculous  intervention  of  God.  A  handshake,  a  gesture,  facial 
expressions,  inadvertent  hints,  impressions  carried  between  the 
lines  of  a  letter,  and  many  other  factors  unrecognized  by  the 
waking  consciousness,  indicate  one's  interest  in  the  religious 
welfare  of  another.  Doubtless  some  persons  are  more  sensitive  to 
weak  stimuli  than  others,  and  some  are  constantly  betraying  more 
of  their  inner  states  than  others.  When  we  add  to  uncon- 
scious preception  the  many  other  means  of  giving  and  taking 
hints  of  prayers  intended  to  influence  others,  the  sources  of 
information  seem  legion.  Taking  a  hint  from  A.,  B.  may  inform 
C.  that  he  is  mentioned  in  the  prayers  of  D.,  or  is  an  object  of 
D.'s  solicitude.  The  pathway  that  a  private  prayer  may  take 
to  reach  the  person  it  is  intended  to  touch  may  be  labyrinthian, 
and  we  may  not  be  able  to  predict  how,  when,  or  where  it  will 
travel,  yet  we  may  rest  assured  that  unless  it  somehow  does 
arrive  at  its  proper  destination  it  will  be  unanswered. 

What  has  been  urged  in  another  connection  regarding 
lack  of  precise  observation,  unconscious  exaggeration,  coincidence 
and  their  effect  on  an  interpretation  of  answer  to  prayer  should 
receive  a  fresh  emphasis  and  application  at  this  juncture.  As  an 
example  of  how  a  lack  of  knowledge  of  mental  behavior  leads 
to  misinterpretations  of  prayer,   an   incident  or  two   recorded 


86  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

by  Mr.  H.  C.  Trumbull  may  be  instructive.  He  writes  that 
one  day  his  friend  and  helper,  Mr.  John  Wattles,  came  to  his 
home  and  discovered  that  he  had  lost 
a  gold  sleeve-button  during  an  ab- 
Misinterpretations  sence  of  several  hours  in  Hartford.  At 
of  Subconscious  the   suggestion   of    Mr.   Trumbull,   he 

Impressions  retraced  his  steps,  looking  for  the  miss- 

ing article  wherever  he  had  been  since 
he  had  last  noticed  it.  While  writing 
in  his  study  after  the  departure  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Trumbull 
was  very  much  disquieted  because  he  had  sent  the  young  man 
upon  his  mission  without  so  much  as  even  suggesting  to  him 
that  he  should  pray  for  God's  guidance.  In  deep  contrition  Mr. 
Trumbull  fell  upon  his  knees  and  prayed  for  forgiveness  and 
the  success  of  his  friend.  When  Mr.  Wattles  returned  he 
reported  success.  He  stated  that  he  had  reached  the  house 
again  without  finding  the  sleeve-button  and  was  about  to  open 
the  door  when  he  was  prompted  to  halt  and  look  back.  Obey- 
ing the  impulse,  he  found  the  lost  article  lying  upon  the  very 
door-step.  When  Mr.  Trumbull  related  his  prayer  experience, 
both  were  convinced  that  the  lost  object  was  located  through 
prayer.^  On  closer  investigation  it  must  be  confessed  that  the 
prayer  played  no  part  whatsoever  in  the  finding  of  the  sleeve- 
button.  The  prompting  to  halt  and  look  back  upon  the  door- 
step need  not  be  regarded  as  an  impression  direct  from  God 
in  answer  to  prayer,  but  may  be  interpreted  in  terms  of  sub- 
conscious activity  of  Mr.  Wattles  himself.  Perhaps  his 
attention  was  fixed  upon  business  affairs,  and  therefore  the 
dropping  of  the  sleeve-button  from  the  sleeve  to  the  door-step 
was  but  dimly  and  subconsciously  noted.  When  the  search 
for  it  was  relinquished,  the  subconscious  impression  became  potent 
enough  to  induce  hesitancy  and  the  impulse  to  look  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  lost  article.  Or,  to  suggest  another  possibility, 
arriving  at  the  home  of  his  friend  after  his  futile  efforts  in  the 
city,   Mr.  Wattles  may  have  preceived   the  sleeve-button  out 

^H.  C.  Trumbull,  Illustrative  Answers  to  Prayers,  p.  75  ff. 


The  Answer  to  Prayer — Continued  87 

of  the  "tail  of  his  eye,"  and  the  preception,  although  in  the 
fringe  of  consciousness,  may  have  been  definite  enough  to  arouse 
the  action  resulting  in  the  end  of  the  search.  Whatever  the 
incidental  steps  may  have  been  vi^hich  led  to  the  recovery  of  the 
article,  it  is  quite  clear  that  it  w^ould  have  been  found  through 
the  same  process  of  consciousness,  even  if  no  prayer  for  guid- 
ance had  been  made  by  the  friend  of  the  seeker.  Instances 
of  finding  lost  or  mislaid  articles  in  much  the  same  w^ay,  even 
when  no  prayer  for  the  success  of  the  search  is  made,  are  too 
numerous   to  mention. 

The  same  writer  gives  a  psychologically  similar  incident 
reported  by  a  college  president's  wife.  The  president's  resi- 
dence was  situated  in  a  secluded  spot  quite  apart  from  the 
travelled  highway.  During  his  absence  his  wife  was  one  night 
awakened  by  hearing  a  burglar  forcing  an  entrance  into  the 
house.  She  knew  that  a  policeman  visited  the  grounds  at  certain 
hours  of  the  night;  hence  her  prayer,  "Lord,  send  a  policeman 
to  our  rescue."  Just  then  she  heard  the  report  of  a  pistol.  The 
startled  woman  sprang  to  the  window  and  by  the  light  of  the 
moon  saw  signs  of  a  struggle.  In  a 
moment  a  policeman  appeared  before 
A  the  house  and  asked  to  be  admitted  in 

Similar  order   that   he   might   see   what   harm 

Case  the  burglar  had  done.     Gaining  admit- 

tance, he  told  his  story.  He  had  made 
the  usual  visit  in  the  vicinity,  finding 
that  all  was  well.  While  he  was  on  his  way  to  the  road,  some- 
thing told  him  to  retrace  his  steps  and  investigate.  Going  back 
to  the  president's  home,  he  saw  a  burglar  entering  a  window. 
Pistol-shots  were  exchanged.  The  burglar  fled  to  the  river 
which  was  only  a  short  distance  from  the  house,  and  attempted 
to  escape  in  a  small  boat,  but  was  disabled  and  drowned.  The 
coming  of  the  policeman  at  the  opportune  time  was  regarded 
as  the  answer  to  the  prayer  made  by  the  president's  wife.^  It 
is  needless  to  say  that  the  elements  of  subconscious  perception 

Hbid,  p.  137  if. 


88  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

are  prominent  in  this  episode.  The  fact  that  the  policeman  was 
troubled  in  mind,  and  therefore  returned  to  the  house,  throws 
light  upon  the  subject.  Doubtless  his  first  visit  was  accom- 
panied by  a  subconscious  registration  of  unrecognizable  im- 
pressions— minute  evidence  of  the  presence  of  a  burglar.  It 
was  the  subconscious  prompting  of  impressions  that  the  self 
had  been  taught  by  experience  to  associate  with  the  presence 
of  burglars  that  sent  him  to  the  rescue.  He  would  have  arrived 
even  if  prayer  had  been  omitted.  A  premonition  ascribed  to 
the  sixth  sense  is  an  analogy.  The  sixth  sense  is  subconscious 
sensibility  and  elaboration. 

We  have  seen  that  genuine  answers  to  prayers  involving 
the  co-operation  of  others  are  dependent  upon  the  transmission 
of  some  message  of  the  prayers  through  the  normal  means  of 
communication,  its  conscious  or  subconscious  reception,  and  the 
suggestibility  of  the  receiver.  One  is  tempted  to  go  a  step 
farther.  There  are  cases  on  record  of  the  efficacy  of  the  mere 
belief  that  intercession  was  made  when  in  reality  no  prayer 
for  another  was  offered.  *'In  South  Chicago  a  lady  had  a  serious 
case  of  heart  trouble.  The  physicians 
told  her  that  the  case  w^as  probably 
The  Effect  of  hopeless.    She  then  sent  her  husband  to 

Mere  Faith  in  see  the  Christian  Science  doctor.     The 

Intercessions  healer  told  the  husband  that  he  could 

heal  her  by  absent  treatment,  and  that 
if  he  should  go  home  and  select  an  hour 
he  would  pray  and  she  must  pray,  and  only  think  of  being  healed. 
He  also  informed  the  husband  that  the  wife  must  dress  loosely 
and  be  very  quiet.  His  wife  selected  8  P.  M.  the  next  day. 
The  husband  was  a  travelling  man,  and  the  next  morning 
started  to  tell  the  healer  to  treat  his  wife  at  8  P.  M.,  but  found 
he  could  not  stop  off  and  make  the  train  he  wanted.  He  did 
not  see  the  healer.  That  night  the  wife  robed  herself,  and 
meditated  upon  being  healed.  Of  course,  she  thought  the  doc- 
tor was  praying  for  her,  but  he  knew  nothing  about  it,  but 
that  did  not  matter.  The  next  day  she  wrote  her  husband 
that  she  was  much  improved.    The  third  day  she  arose,  dressed 


The  Answer  to  Prayer — Continued  89 

and  went  about  her  work.  The  fourth  day  she  wrote  to  her 
husband  at  Aurora :  'I  am  well.'  "^  Her  belief,  although  un- 
warranted, that  the  healer  was  praying  for  her  tended  to  realize 
the  idea  of  health.  When  her  husband  returned  home  again 
he  could  contain  himself  no  longer  and  at  once  disabused  her 
mind  of  the  belief  that  the  curist  had  prayed  for  her  recov- 
ery. The  sudden  revelation  was  more  than  she  was  able  at 
that  time  to  bear;  she  suffered  a  relapse  and  expired  within 
ten  hours.  Despite  its  unfortunate  ending,  the  case  is  instructive 
in  that  it  shows  the  power  of  faith  in  the  prayers  of  another, 
even  when  that  faith  is  without  objective  ground. 

Parenthetically  it  may  be  remarked  that  doubtless  many 
persons  are  converted,  delivered  from  all  manner  of  pernicious 
evils,  cured  of  functional  diseases  and  helped  in  others,  and 
guided  out  of  perplexities,  because  they  are  convinced  that  they 
are  mentioned  in  the  prayers  of  others  whom  they  respect,  even 
when  no  intercession  is  made.  The  report  of  another's  prayerful 
interest  in  one  may  be  false ;  our  sources 
of  information  are  not  always  abso- 
A  Source  lutely   reliable.     While   we   do   know 

of  Error  in  more  than  we  consciously  know,  hear 

Judgment  more    than    we    consciously    hear,    see 

more  than  we  consciously  see,  it  is 
nevertheless  true  that  judgments  based 
upon  subconscious  impressions  are  not  infallible.  One  may 
waken  in  the  dead  of  the  night,  fully  persuaded  that  an  intruder 
has  found  his  way  into  the  house.  The  subconscious  may  have 
taken  note  of  data  too  delicate  to  be  perceptible  to  conscious- 
ness, and  the  conclusion  is  drawn  that  a  burglar  in  the  house 
is  stealthily  seeking  loot.  The  real  cause  of  the  disquieting 
experience  may  be  a  timid  mouse  nibbling  a  dry  cracker  in  the 
pantry.  How  may  of  our  premonitions  has  time  proved  to 
be  groundless! 

Prayers  for  the  dead  are  regarded  by  some  as  a  legitimate 
form  of  intercession.    One  writer  of  devotional  literature  makes 

^J.  V.  Coombs,  Religious  Delusions,  p.  142. 


90  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

the  following  plea  for  them:   "And  the  blessed  dead! — those 

happy  souls  'who  have  departed  thence  in  the  Lord!'     They, 

too,  come  within  the  limitless  range  of  intercessory  prayer.    May 

we  pray  for  them?     Three  words  will 

help   us   to   answer   the  question:   law, 

Prayers  love  and  liberty.     Law  allows  it;  love 

for  the  commands    it;    liberty    embraces    it."^ 

Dead  There  is  of  course   no  valid   evidence 

for   believing   that   the  prayers   of   the 

living  influence  the  dead.     Only  a  few 

protestant  denominations  teach  the  duty  and  efficacy  of  praying 

for  the  dead.     It  would,  however,  be  rash  to  declare  that  this 

form  of  intercession  is  without  any  effect.     The  result,  so  far 

as  can  be  determined,  is  reflexive.     Such  prayers  tend  to  deepen 

the   social   sympathies.      Since    the   altruistic   sentiments   grow 

beneath  the  threshold  of  consciousness,  the  subjective  influence 

of  the  prayer  is  largely  in  terms  of  subconscious  products. 

No  doubt  some  who  are  reading  these  pages  have  been 
expecting  a  reference  to  telepathy,  or  thought-transference  with- 
out the  channels  of  sense-perception,  as  a  means  of  influencing 
others  at  a  distance.     Briefly  stated,  this  theory  maintains  that 
one  can  read  the  thoughts  of  another 
at   a   distance   and   control   them,   per- 
ceive physical  phenomena  occurring  no 
Telepathy  matter  how  far  removed  from  the  per- 

cipient, see  into  the  future,  communi- 
cate with  the  dead,  and  do  many  other 
wonderful  things.  The  writer  is  frank 
to  say  that  he  is  forced  to  reject  the  evidence  for  telepathic 
marvels  as  scientifically  untenable.  Such  competent  students 
of  borderland  psychology  as  Muensterberg,  Jastrow,  Parish,  and 
others,  reduce  the  so-called  telepathic  occurrences  to  a  hopeless 
jumble  of  suggestion,  unconscious  perception,  chance,  coin- 
cidence, hallucinations,  illusions,  defective  observation,  expecta- 
tion, imagination,  exaggeration  and  deliberate,  or  unintentional, 

^E.  E.  Holmes, Pr^^'er  and  Action,  p.  51. 


The  Answer  to  Prayer — Continued  91 

fraud.  These  scientists  insist  that  an  unbroken  chain  of  sen- 
sations intermediates  every  perception.  Professor  Muensterberg 
describes  the  following  typical  case  of  alleged  telepathic  in- 
fluence : 

"There  came  to  me,  late  at  night,  a  stranger,  in  wildest 
despair,  resolved  to  commit  suicide  that  night  if  I  could  not 
help  him.  He  had  been  a  physician,  but  had  given  up  his  prac- 
tice because  his  brother  on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean,  hated 
him  and  had  him  under  his  telepathic  influence,  troubling  him 
from  over  the  sea  with  voices  which  mocked  him  and  with  im- 
pulses to  foolish  actions.  He  had  not  slept  nor  eaten  anything 
for  several  days,  and  the  only  chance  for  life  he  saw  was  that 
a  new  hypnotic  influence  might  overpower  the  mystical  hypnotic 
forces.  I  soon  found  the  source  of 
his  trouble.  In  treating  himself  for 
A  Case  of  So-Called  a  wound  he  had  misused  cocaine  in 
Telepathic  an  absurd  way,  and  the  hallucination 

Influence  of  voices  was  the  chief  symptom  of  his 

cocainism.  These  products  of  his 
poisoned  brain  had  sometimes  reference 
to  his  brother  in  Europe,  and  thus  the  telepathic  idea  grew 
in  him  and  permeated  his  whole  life.  I  hypnotized  him,  and 
suggested  to  him  with  success  to  have  sleep  and  food  and  a 
smaller  dose  of  cocaine.  Then  I  hypnotized  him  daily  for  six 
weeks.  After  ten  days  he  gave  up  cocaine  entirely,  after  three 
weeks  the  voices  disappeared,  and  after  that  the  other  symptoms 
faded  away.  It  was  not,  however,  until  the  end  that  the  telepathic 
theory  was  exploded.  Even  when  the  voices  were  gone,  he  felt 
for  a  while  that  his  movements  were  controlled  from  over  the 
ocean;  and  after  six  weeks  when  I  had  made  him  quite  well 
again,  he  laughed  over  his  telepathic  absurdities,  but  assured 
me  that  if  these  sensations  came  back  again  he  would  be  unable, 
even  in  full  health,  to  resist  the  mystical  interpretation,  so 
vividly  had  he  felt  the  distant  influences."^ 


^Psychology  and  Life,  p.  242  If. 


92  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

The  writer  emphatically  reiterates  that  he  cannot  accept  as 
valid  the  findings  of  those,  be  they  ever  so  sincere,  who  de- 
clare that  the  doctrine  of  telepathy  is  the  only  explanation  of 
certain    cases    of    thought-transmission. 
Nevertheless,  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
Prayer  whether  one  has  recourse  to  a  method 

as  Social  of    thought-transference    without    the 

Suggestion  ordinary  means  of  communication,  or 

is  persuaded  that  without  the  inter- 
ruption of  the  usual  series  of  sensations 
consciously  or  subconsciously  perceived  the  person  to  be  influ- 
enced by  a  prayer  cannot  be  reached,  the  contention  here  main- 
tained is  granted — the  contention  that  in  order  to  be  truly 
effective  the  plea  or  intercession  must  find  its  way  into  the  mind 
of  another.  The  prayer  thus  introduced  into  the  life  of  another 
acts  as  a  social  suggestion,  the  prominence  accorded  the  prayer 
depending  upon  the  suggestibility  of  the  person  for  its  object, 
the  answer  ranging  all  the  way  from  the  granting  of  a  mere 
trifle  to  conversion. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  appreciate  the  important  part 
which  auto-suggestion  plays  in  private  prayer.     We  have  ob- 
served how  prayer  attracts  and  holds  the  attention.    We  have 
seen  that  the  isolation  of  the  person,  suspension  of  vision,  posture, 
automatic   motor   phenomena   of    mental    effort,    fasting,    oral 
repetition,  emotion,  voluntary  attention  and  other  factors  con- 
spire to  fix  in  mind  the  prayer.    The  importance  of  the  faith  state 
has  been  emphasized.     Devotional  lit- 
erature,   the   testimony  of   others,    the 
recollection  of  personal  experiences,  the 
Summary  misinterpretation  of  unanswered  pray- 

ers or  the  ignoring  of  the  same,  the 
acceptance  of  coincidental  cases,  the 
repetition  of  the  prayer,  are  some  of  the 
elements  which  arouse  and  increase  faith.  Attention  is  selective 
in  its  nature,  and  the  narrowing  of  the  field  of  consciousness 
to  a  certain  group  of  ideas  embodied  in  a  prayer  determines  just 
which  ideas  among  the  many  possible  ones  shall  be  prominent 


The  Answer  to  Prayer — Continued  93 

in  the  mind.  Faith  at  first  consciously  or  unconsciously  strives 
toward  the  realization  of  the  prayer  held  in  mind,  and  then 
becomes  passive  in  order  that  the  subconscious  element  may 
come  to  completion.  The  prayer  held  in  mental  focus  and  be- 
lieved in  tends  to  realize  itself  automatically.  That  the  answers 
to  prayer  are  due  to  the  interaction  of  conscious  and  subconscious 
factors,  the  analogies  taken  from  departments  of  life  which  usu- 
ally receive  no  religious  recognition  seem  to  indicate.  Plainly  all 
answers  to  prayer  are  of  the  same  general  nature  as  their 
analogies.  The  element  of  auto-suggestion  is  perhaps  more 
pronounced  in  the  prayers  answered  through  the  self  than  in 
those  answered  through  another  self.  The  prayers  of  the  self  for 
regeneration,  elimination  of  evil,  purity  of  life,  cure  of  disease, 
help  in  a  predicament,  bristle  with  the  essentials  of  auto-sug- 
gestion. In  prayers  that  look  toward  the  co-operation  of  others, 
auto-suggestion  tends  to  construct  a  personality  radiant  with 
faith  and  confidence  which  increase  the  effectiveness  of  the  social 
suggestion  upon  which  the  answer  depends.  It  would  be  folly 
to  say  that  prayer  is  nothing  more  than  suggestion.  Prayer 
is  indeed  more  than  a  mere  mental  impression  which  tends  to 
express  itself  through  the  automatic  processes  of  the  personality. 
It  is  suggestion  plus  a  religious  attitude.  Prayer  clothes  the 
skeleton  of  suggestion  with  the  warm  flesh  of  religious  sanction. 
Suggestion  is  swallowed  up  in  prayer.  It  would  immeasurably 
enrich  the  personal  life  if  the  religious  interpretation  were  ex- 
tended to  all  the  phenomena  of  suggestion  which  in  any  way 
minister  to  the  needs  of  man. 


CHAPTER  VI 

DEVOTIONAL  PRAYER 

The  majority  of  the  best  religionists  of  our  day  aver  that 

prayer  is  infinitely  more  than  petition  for  special  favors,  that 

the   true   prayer   is   devotional   rather   than   petitional.     They 

regard  prayer  as  a  reverential  attitude, 

a  mode  of  self-expression,  meditation  on 

T\       ^-       I  life's  deepest  problems,  communion  w^ith 

Devotional  ,      ^     .  ., ,        ^     ^l 

p  the   Invisible.      lo  them  prayer  is  an 

end  in  itself  and  not  so  much  a  means 
to   an  end.     This  kind  of  prayer  v^^e 
shall  call  devotional.     It  embraces  the 
prayers  of  confession,  adoration,  worship  and  thanksgiving. 

Haunted  by  a  sense  of  guilt  and  regret,  the  person  may 
seek  and  find  relief  in  the  prayer  of  confession.  Convinced 
that  God  will  lend  a  sympathetic  ear,  he  freely  confesses  in 
prayer  what  he  withholds  from  his  most  intimate  human  friend. 
The  confession  is  followed  by  a  sense  of  unity  with  his  maker. 
The  benefits  of  this  type  of  prayer  are 
set  forth  with  characteristic  vividness 
The  by  Brother  Lawrence  in  the  following 

Prayer  of  description:   "I  consider  myself  as  the 

Confession  most  wretched   of   men,   full   of  sores 

and  corruption,  and  who  has  committed 
all  sorts  of  crimes  against  the  King. 
Touched  with  a  sensible  regret,  I  ask  forgiveness,  I  abandon 
myself  in  His  hands  that  He  may  do  what  He  pleases  with  me. 
The  King,  full  of  mercy  and  goodness,  very  far  from  chas- 
tising me,  embraces  me  with  love,  makes  me  eat  at  His  table, 
serves  me  with  His  own  hands,  gives  me  the  key  of  His 
treasures;  He  converses  and  delights  Himself  with  me  incess- 
antly, in  a  thousand  and  a  thousand  ways,  and  treats  me  in  all 
respects  as  His  favorite."^ 

^The  Practice  of  the  Presence  of  God,  p.  25. 


96  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

For  countless  ages  man  has  experienced  relief  through 
confession  in  various  forms.  Religious  leaders  recommend  con- 
fession to  God,  the  pastor,  or  friend.  Pent-up  emotions  escape 
through  vocal  expression ;  grief  exhausts  itself  in  cries  and  tears. 
Family  quarrels  which  do  not  originate  in  a  controversy  con- 
cerning the  fundamentals  tend  to  clear  the  domestic  atmosphere. 
Some  persons  discharge  their  wrath  and  indignation  against 
a  correspondent  in  a  violent  letter  which  is  consigned  to  the 
waste-basket  when  it  is  written.  Criminals  at  large,  crushed 
by  the  weight  of  unconfessed  crimes,  occasionally  surrender 
themselves  to  the  police,  preferring  the  sentence  of  the  court  to 
the  qualms  of  conscience.  Although  confession  has  unbur- 
dened the  mind  of  man  for  many  cen- 
turies, the  psychology  of  it  has  been 
Psychoanalysis  obscure  until  Dr.  S.  Freud  and  his  co- 

in workers   contributed   their   theory   and 

Confession  practice  of  psychoanalysis.     In  his  lec- 

tures on  Psychoanalysis  Dr.  Freud 
throws  light  on  the  prayer  of  confes- 
sion. A  careful  study  of  hysteria  convinced  him  that  its  cause 
is  a  half-suppressed  wish  repugnant  to  the  moral  ideals  of  the 
patient.  The  wish  lingers  in  the  subconscious,  but  as  often  as 
it  tends  to  come  to  consciousness  it  is  repressed.  To  converse 
freely  about  the  root  of  the  disturbance  relieves  the  patient; 
therefore,  the  physician  encourages  him  to  confess  whatever  is 
lurking  in  the  mind,  be  it  ever  so  trivial  or  embarrassing.  An 
irrelevant  statement  or  phrase  may  betray  the  wish  which  the 
patient  is  trying  to  suppress.  If  the  desired  information  is  not 
given  during  the  conversation  with  the  physician,  it  may  be 
obtained  through  hypnosis.^ 

Dr.  Freud  cites  the  following  case  as  an  illustration  of 
the  principles  involved  in  psychoanalysis:  *'It  is  that  of  a  young 
girl,  who  was  deeply  attached  to  her  father,  who  died  a  short 
time   before,    and   in   whose   care   she   had   shared      *      *      * 


^American  Journal  of  Psychology,  Vol.  xxi,  p.  181  if. 


Devotional  Prayer  97 

When  her  older  sister  married,  she  grew  to  feel  a  peculiar  sym- 
pathy for  her  new  brother-in-law,  which  easily  passed  with  her 
for  family  tenderness.     The  sister  soon 
fell  ill  and  died,  while  the  patient  and 
Freud's  her   mother  were   away.     The   absent 

Theory  ones  were  hastily  recalled,  without  be- 

Illustrated  ing  fully  told  of  the  painful  situation. 

As  the  girl  stood  by  the  bedside  of  her 
dead  sister,  for  one  short  moment  there 
surged  up  in  her  mind  an  idea,  which  might  be  framed  in  these 
words :  'Now  he  is  free  and  I  can  marry  him.'  We  may  be  sure 
that  this  idea,  which  betrayed  to  her  consciousness  her  intense 
love  for  her  brother-in-law,  of  which  she  had  not  been  conscious, 
was  the  next  moment  consigned  to  repression  by  her  revolted 
feelings.  The  girl  fell  ill  with  severe  hysterical  symptoms, 
and,  when  I  came  to  treat  the  case,  it  appeared  that  she  had 
entirely  forgotten  that  scene  at  her  sister's  bedside  and  the  un- 
natural egoistic  desire  which  had  arisen  in  her.  She  remem- 
bered it  during  the  treatment,  reproduced  the  pathogenic  mo- 
ment with  every  sign  of  intense  excitement,  and  was  cured  by 
this  treatment."^ 

Freud  contends  that  an  impulse  freed  from  repression  can 
in  no  w^ise  prove  subversive  to  the  moral  attribute.  In  fact, 
the  wish  exerts  a  far  more  pernicious  influence  when  it  is  sub- 
conscious and  therefore  not  amenable  to  control  than  when  it 
is  conscious  and  therefore  acted  upon  by  tendencies  which 
destroy  its  power.  As  soon  as  it  is 
set  free,  many  an  impulse  is  consumed 
Disposition  by  the  moral  sense.     In  other  cases  the 

of  the  liberated  wish  cannot  be  wholly  con- 

Freed  Wish  demned,  but  may  be  refined  and  regu- 

lated   and    discharged    through    higher 
channels.       In    still    other    cases    the 
legitimacy  of  the  freed  impulse  may  be  frankly  admitted.   The 
confession  of  the  young  girl  cured  by  Dr.  Freud  purged  the 


Hbid.,  pp.  193-194. 


98  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

personality  of  the  noxious  element  at  once.  It  is  thinkable 
that  she  might  have  been  led  to  express  her  love  for  her  brother- 
in-law  in  the  kindly  deeds  of  social  service.  Under  still  other 
circumstances,  perhaps  she  might  have  found  her  love  legitimate 
and  abandoned  herself  to  it. 

Dr.  Freud's  theory  of  psychoanalysis  seems  to  hark  back 
to  Aristotle's  conception  of  the  function  of  tragedy,  and  to  be 
an  elaboration  of  his  doctrine  of   katharsis.     The  great  phi- 
losopher   defined    tragedy    as    follows: 
''Tragedy  is  an  imitation  of  an  action 
Aristotle's  that  is  serious,  complete,  and  of  a  cer- 

Theory  of  tain    magnitude;    in    language    embel- 

Katharsis  lished     with     each     kind     of     artistic 

ornament,  the  several  kinds  being 
found  in  separate  parts  of  the  play;  in 
form  of  action,  not  of  narative ;  through  pity  and  fear  effecting 
the  proper  katharsis,  or  purgation,  of  these  emotions."^  We 
are  here  concerned  with  his  theory  of  katharsis.  While  the 
meaning  of  katharsis  has  bafEled  many  of  Aristotle's  interpreters, 
the  following  exposition  is  illuminating:  *'In  the  medical  lan- 
guage of  the  school  of  Hippocrates  it  {katharsis)  strictly  de- 
notes the  removal  of  a  painful  or  disturbing  element  from  the 
organism,  and  hence  the  purifying  of  what  remains,  by  the 
elimination  of  alien  matter.  Applying  this  to  tragedy  we  observe 
that  the  feelings  of  pity  and  fear  in  real  life  contain  a  morbid 
and  disturbing  element.  In  the  process  of  tragic  excitation 
they  find  relief,  and  the  morbid  element  is  thrown  ofF.  As  the 
tragic  action  progresses,  when  the  tumult  of  the  mind,  first 
roused,  has  afterwards  subsided,  the  lower  forms  of  emotion 
are  found  to  have  been  transmuted  into  higher  and  more  refined 
forms.  The  painful  element  in  the  pity  and  fear  of  reality  is 
purged  away;  the  emotions  themselves  are  purged."^ 


^Translated  by  S.  H.  Butcher,  Aristotle's  Theory  of  Poetry 

and  Fine  Art,  p.  240. 
Ubid.,^pp,  253-254. 


Devotional  Prayer  99 

Now  the  prayer  of  confession  may  be  described  in  terms 
of  psychoanalysis.  It  also  is  a  kind  of  katharsis  which  expels 
disquieting  elements  from  the  personality.  An  unforgiven  and 
unconfessed  moral  lapse,  secret  temptation,  questionable  and 
haunting  desires  may  create  a  disturb- 
ance when  they  are  refused  admittance 
Psychoanalysis  no  matter  how  persistently  they  may  be 

in  Confession  knocking  on  the  door  of  consciousness. 

Through  Prayer  Finally,  the  individual  may  unburden 

himself  in  the  prayer  of  confession. 
Convinced  that  God  is  all  compassion, 
he  withholds  nothing  that  oppresses  him.  One  confession  blazes 
the  way  for  another  until  the  disturbing  idea  has  been  confessed. 
The  impulse  which  is  now  allowed  to  represent  itself  above  the 
threshold  of  consciousness  may  stand  convicted  before  the 
tribunal  of  conscience  and  be  sentenced  to  die  at  once,  or  the 
culprit  before  the  bar  of  justice  may  be  declared  innocent  and 
be  permitted  to  run  at  large,  or  the  offender  may  be  neither 
wholly  acquitted  nor  condemned,  but  be  restrained  and  dis- 
ciplined for  higher  ends.  As  an  example  of  the  possibilities 
of  the  outcome  of  the  prayer  of  confession  let  us  take  three  ways 
of  disposing  of  the  impression  that  the  reproductive  instinct  is 
vile.  One  person  may  suffer  the  qualms  of  conscience  because 
of  illicit  sexual  relations.  When  the  vice  is  acknowledged  the 
moral  life  may  be  strong  enough  to  purge  the  personality  of  it 
at  once ;  or,  if  deeply  ingrained,  the  evil  may  be  overcome  in 
accordance  with  the  method  by  which  bad  habits  are  uprooted. 
Another  may  confess  that  he  is  ashamed  of  and  humiliated  by 
the  very  existence  of  sexual  impulse.  Viewing  the  matter  in 
the  light  of  the  confession  experience,  the  person  may  conclude 
that  his  attitude  was  due  to  a  foolish  prudery  and  that  the  repro- 
ductive life  has  a  dignified  place  in  the  propagation  of  the  race. 
Still  another  may  confess  that  the  reproductive  instinct  is  too 
active,  a  condition  repugnant  to  his  moral  ideals.  The  confession 
may  lead  him  to  the  conclusion  that  the  activity  of  the  sex  im- 
pulse is  neither  to  be  wholly  excused  nor  condemned,  but  to 
be  transmuted  and  modified.     Wholesome  relations  with  the 


100  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

opposite  sex,  a  personal  interest  in  the  welfare  of  children  or 
of  unfortunate  humanity,  or  other  uplifting  and  ennobling 
activities,  afford  the  excessive  prompting  of  the  sex  instinct 
higher  and  more  refined  avenues  of  expression.  In  this  way 
the  subconscious  disturbance  is  granted  conscious  recognition 
and  condemned,  or  excused,  or  transformed.  The  freed  im- 
pulse is  disposed  of  according  to  the  sense  of  fitness  which 
characterizes  the  religious  instinct.  In  some  cases  the  confes- 
sion itself  rids  the  self  of  the  baneful  element;  in  other  cases 
the  prayer  life  must  carry  on  to  completion  the  work  of  elimina- 
tion, or  transmutation  before  the  person  can  feel  entirely  at 
one  with  the  Universe. 

The  psychology  of  the  prayer  of  praise  is  closely  akin  to 
that  of  the  prayer  of  confession.     Let  a  writer  of  devotional 
literature  describe  this  type  of  prayer:  "We  may  think  of  praise 
in    three    parts — Adoration,     Thanks- 
giving, Worship.    Thus,  we  adore  God 

_,      _  for  what   He   is:   we   thank   Him   for 

The  Prsver 

.  what   He  does;  we  worship   Him   for 

what  he  wills.  Or,  we  adore  Him  as 
our  Beloved;  we  thank  Him  as  our 
Benefactor;  we  worship  Him  as  our 
Overlord."^  Prayer  as  an  expression  of  gratitude  has  found 
favor  in  the  sight  of  many  a  religionist.  St.  Paul  says,  "With 
thanksgiving  let  your  requests  be  made  known  unto  God."^ 
In  Minna  von  Barnhelm,  Lessing  says,  "A  single  grateful 
thought  toward  heaven  is  the  most  perfect  prayer."  One  may  feel 
a  desire  to  adore  or  thank  or  worship  God  and  disturb  the  har- 
mony of  consciousness  by  repressing  the  impulse.  The  mere 
obeying  of  the  impulse  is  generally  sufficient  to  restore  the  unity 
of  consciousness. 

Worship  and  adoration  frequently  pass  beyond  the  mere 
freeing  of  a  subconscious  haunt  and  breed  gentle  hallucinations 
which  are  generally  interpreted  as  the  objective  presence  of  God. 


^E.  E.  Holmes,  Prayer  and  Action,  p.  84. 
^Philippians  iv,  6. 


Devotional  Prayer  101 

The  deeply  rooted  social  nature  of  man  may  account  for  the 
practicing  of  the  presence  of  God  through  worship  and  adora- 
tion.    The  desire  to  hold  communion 
with    Grod    may   be    an   outgrowth   of 
Communion  man's  instinct  to  fellowship  with  man. 

in  Adoration  If  a  man  may  converse  with  his  fellows, 

and  Worship  why    not    with    God    as    friend    with 

friend?  That  worship  and  adoration 
are  often  rewarded  with  a  subjective 
experience  betraying  the  essentials  of  auto-suggestion,  the  fol- 
lowing accounts  of  trustworthy  persons  will  indicate :  "I  make 
the  effort  to  feel  the  presence  of  God."  "If  I  allow  the  cares 
of  life  to  enter  in  and  distract  my  thoughts,  then  this  is  not  so." 
"The  presence  of  God  is  felt  in  varying  degrees  according  to 
the  concentration  of  attention."  The  following  statements  re- 
veal the  intimacy  and  warmth  of  the  experience  and  its  inter- 
pretation: "I  have  attained  a  distinct  feeling  of  the  presence  of 
God  verging  on  the  mystical  sense."  "Sometimes  He  has  seemed 
inexpressively  near — all-enveloping,  etc."  "Yes,  some  brood- 
ing spirit  out  of  which  my  soul  has  sprung,  and  in  the  heart 
of  which  it  must  be  held  if  my  soul  it  satisfied."  "I  cannot 
imagine  how  religious  persons  can  live  satisfied  without  the 
practice  of  the  presence  of  God.  For  my  part,  I  keep  myself 
retired  with  Him  in  the  fund  or  center  of  my  soul  as  much  as 
I  can;  and  while  I  am  so  with  Him  I  fear  nothing,  but  the 
least  turning  from  Him  is  insupportable.  *  *  *  Let  us 
live  and  die  with  God.  Suffering  will  be  sweet  and  pleasant  to 
us  while  we  are  with  Him;  and  the  greatest  pleasures  will  be, 
without  Him,  a  cruel  punishment  to  us."^  Doubtless  these 
persons  experience  hallucinations  to  which  they  do  not  ascribe 
religious  significance.  As  observed  elsewhere,  hallucinations 
are  a  matter  of  temperament  and  predisposition. 

Like  the  mystical  experiences  induced  through  the  prayer 
of  worship  and  adoration,  the  state  of  hallucination  is  character- 


^Brother  Lawrence,  The  Practice  of  the  Presence  of  God, 
pp.  32-34. 


"1(32  Auta-Su'ggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

ized  by  a  limitation  of  the  field  of  consciousness,  an  oblivious- 
ness to  surroundings,  a  heightened  sensitivity,  and  a  feeling  of 
being  controlled  by  another.  The  feeling  of  being  under  the 
direct  control  of  a  power  not  his  own 
makes  it  difficult  for  the  hallucinated 
The  Consciousness  subject  to  interpret  his  experience  in 
of  Being  terms  of  a  mental  projection.     It  is  the 

Controlled  nature    of    a    fully    exteriorized    and 

objectified  idea  to  assume  spatial  out- 
wardness and  to  induce  in  the  subject 
a  feeling  of  its  own  reality.  The  sense  of  a  presence  is,  then, 
not  peculiar  to  mystical  religious  states;  it  develops  in  halluci- 
nations not  interpreted  theistically.  Professor  James  gives  the 
testimony  of  a  lady  who  has  the  gift  of  automatic  or  involuntary 
writing.  She  says,  ''Whenever  I  practice  automatic  writing, 
what  makes  me  feel  that  it  is  not  due  to  a  subconscious  self  is 
the  feeling  I  always  have  of  a  foreign  presence,  external  to  my 
body.  It  is  sometimes  so  definitely  characterized  that  I  could 
point  to  its  exact  position.  This  impression  of  presence  is  im- 
possible to  describe.  It  varies  in  intensity  and  clearness  accord- 
ing to  the  personality  from  whom  the  writing  professes  to  come. 
If  it  is  some  one  whom  I  love,  I  feel  it  immediately,  before 
any  writing  has  come.     My  heart  seems  to  recognize  it."^ 

Devotional  prayer  is  characterized  by  a  dissolving  of  an 
inward  conflict,  by  a  healing  of  a  breach  in  consciousness,  by  a 
unifying  of  the  self.     The  emphasis  is  laid  on  the  experience 
itself  rather  than  on  the  futherance  of  moral  action.     Many 
deeply   religious  people  who   have   dis- 
carded petitional  prayer  find  in  devo- 
tional prayer  a  solace   and   inspiration 
Summary  which,  they  aver,  more  than  offsets  the 

loss  of  petitions  for  specific  favors.     It 
is    evident    that    in    devotional    prayer 
auto-suggestion    is    not    the    prominent 
factor.     This  type  of  prayer  lends  itself  to  an  interpretation 

'^The  Varieties  of  Religious  Experience ,  p.  62. 


Devotional  Prayer  103 

in  terms  of  the  principles  of  psychoanalysis.  It  has  its  roots 
in  a  mental  unrest ;  a  partially  repressed  subconscious  impression 
is  seeking  conscious  recognition.  If  the  desire  is  persistently 
repulsed,  a  pathological  disturbance  may  ensue.  When  the 
prayer  of  confession  makes  the  discordant  note  the  content  of 
clear  consciousness,  conscience  sits  in  judgment  over  the  offender, 
condemning,  exonerating,  or  recommending  a  process  of  refin- 
ing. If  the  fault  confessed  is  not  deeply  embedded  and  the 
moral  constitution  is  vigorous  enough,  the  evil  tendency  may 
at  once  be  consumed  in  the  intense  feeling  of  repugnance 
w^hich  it  arouses.  In  many  instances  the  prayer  of  petition  is 
relied  upon  to  eliminate  or  modify  the  tendency  which  the 
confession  has  disclosed.  Thus  the  devotional  prayer  may 
be  the  springs  of  petitional  prayers,  which,  as  we  have 
seen,  are  desirable  in  terms  of  religiously  sanctioned  suggestion. 
What  obtains  in  a  more  advanced  and  complicated  form 
in  the  prayer  of  confession  doubtless  occurs  in  the  prayer 
of  praise.  When  the  impulse  to  adore,  worship,  or  thank 
God  is  discharged  in  the  form  of  the  prayer  of  praise, 
the  equilibrium  of  the  mind  is  restored.  When  the  prayer  of 
adoration  and  worship  becomes  a  one-sided  mental  activity, 
the  person  may  be  hallucinated  by  the  feeling  of  a  divine  pres- 
ence which  seems  to  be  self-existent.  This  experience  may  be 
induced  through  auto-suggestion.  The  value  of  devotional 
prayer  cannot  easily  be  overestimated.  It  purges  the  self  of  its 
crass  elements;  it  strikes  harmony  between  the  self  and  the 
not-self;  it  clarifies  the  ideals;  it  intensifies  moral  convictions; 
it  imparts  that  touch  of  mysticism  which  separates  the  religious 
from  the  irreligious. 


CHAPTER  VII 

UNANSWERED  PRAYER 

A  popular  writer  makes  no  secret  of  the  futility  of  many 
prayers  when  he  says,  "Probably  it  is  accurate  to  say  that 
thousands  of  prayers  go  up  and  bring  nothing  down.  This 
is  certainly  true.  Let  us  say  it  just  as  bluntly  and  plainly  as 
it  can  be  said."^  Not  all  writers  of  devotional  literature  are 
as  ready  to  admit  the  failures  of  the  prayer  life.  It  is  a  fact 
that  myriads  of  prayers  are  unanswered 
in  the  sense  that  the  object  of  the  pe- 
Yj  J  tition  is  not  forthcoming.     Many  and 

p  varied   are  tl^  explanations  made  for 

the  ungranted  petition.  We  have 
elsewhere  had  occasion  to  refer  to  the 
fact  that  many  attribute  unanswered 
prayers  to  lack  of  faith,  lack  of  definiteness,  lack  of  persever- 
ance, improper  objects  of  prayer.  Some  insist  that  God  hears 
all  prayers,  but  answers  only  those  which  are  in  accord  with 
his  will  and  for  the  good  of  the  petitioner.  They  affirm  that 
"yes"  is  as  real  an  answer  as  "no."  Others  maintain  that  every 
prayer  is  either  directly  or  indirectly  answered,  that  often  the 
insignificant  favor  asked  for  is  ungranted  in  order  that  a  higher 
good  may  be  bestowed.  Our  study  of  the  part  auto-suggestion 
plays  in  petitional  prayer  may  perhaps  afford  us  a  vantage 
ground  from  which  we  may  discover  some  reasons  why  so  many 
prayers  fail. 

Some   argue  that  many  prayers   are  unanswered   because 
they  are  on  a  low  ethical  plane.     It  is,  however,  fallacious  to 


^S.  D.  Gordon,  Quiet  Talks  on  Prayer,  p.  67 


106  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

assume  that  the  mere  answering  of  a  prayer  is  an  infallible  indi- 
cation of  its  moral  worth,  for  the  laws  of  suggestion  operate  re- 
gardless   of    the    ethical    questions    in- 
volved in  religion.     Other  things  being 
p  ,  .     ,  equal,  the  unethical  petition  is  as  likely 

T^.       .     .      ^.  to  be  granted  as  an  ethical  one.     Too 

Discrimination  ^  .  .      , ,      ,  . 

many  prayers  for  questionable  objects 

have  been  made  and  answered — prayers 

which  have  been  productive  of  evil. 
But  as  religious  insight  deepens  and  the  moral  sentiment  develops 
the  person  is  in  revolt  against  unethical  discriminations  in  prayer. 
When  life  is  guided  by  the  highest  elements  of  the  soul  prayer 
becomes  a  source  of  power  which  makes  for  righteousness.  Ethi- 
cal discrimination  should,  then,  obtain,  not  because  the  answer- 
ing of  the  prayer  depends  upon  the  moral  quality  of  the  petition, 
but  because  a  worthy  object  of  prayer  contributes  toward  ideal 
ends.  One  must  seek  elsewhere  for  the  causes  of  unanswered 
prayer.^ 

Lack  of  discrimination  against  unscientific  objects  of  prayer 
is  one  great  source  of  unanswered  prayers.  An  unscientific  ob- 
ject of  prayer  is  one  which  falls  outside  the  sphere  of  mental  in- 
fluence or  is  too  complex  to  be  realized  by  the  vitality  of  the 
organism.  We  have  seen  that  answer  to  prayer  is  obtained 
"^"through   the   operation   67  the"  natiifal 

laws  of  our  being;  hence  in  order  to  be 
Lack  of  effective   petitional   prayer   must   move 

Scientific  within  the  scope  of  suggestion.     It  fol- 

Discrimination  lows  that  the  laws  of  prayer  are  not 

operative    outside    personal     influence. 

Instead  of  praying  for  rain  we  irrigate 
the  arid  region  or  modify  its  atmospheric  condition  by  plant- 
ing trees;  instead  of  praying  to  be  delivered  from  a  plague  of 
grasshoppers  we  plow  under  their  larva  and  prevent  their  prop- 
agation; instead  of  praying  for  the  arrest  of  the  ravages  of  an 

^For  a  discussion  of  growth  in  ethical  discrimination  in 
prayer  see  A.  L.  Strong,  Psychology  of  Prayer,  p.  50. 


Unanswered  Prayer  107 

epidemic  of  typhoid  fever  we  test  our  drinking  water  and  create 
sanitary  conditions.  The  following  incident,  taken  from  a 
popular  novel,  may  well  arouse  our  suspicion:  "Alessandro's 
grandfather  had  journeyed  with  Father  Crespi  as  his  servant, 
and  many  a  miracle  he  had  with  his  own  eyes  seen  Father 
Crespi  perform.  There  was  a  cup  out  of  which  the  Father 
alway  took  his  chocolate  for  breakfast,  a  beautiful  cup,  which 
was  carried  in  a  box,  the  only  luxury  the  Father  had;  and 
one  morning  it  was  broken,  and  everybody  was  in  despair. 
'Never  mind,  never  mind,'  said  the  Father;  'I  will  make  it 
whole;'  and  taking  the  two  pieces  in  his  hands,  he  held  them 
tight  together,  and  prayed  over  them,  and  they  became  one 
solid  piece  again,  and  it  was  used  through  the  journey,  just  as 
before."^  The  most  that  prayer  can  do  for  us  in  regard  to  con- 
ditions on  which  the  mental  life  has  no  influence  is  to  construct 
a  personality  competent  to  rise  above  the  untoward  circum- 
stances. Faith  can  remove  mountains  only  in  the  sense 
that  it  can  create  a  person  inspired  to  devise  ways  and 
means  whereby  the  proposed  bit  of  engineering  can  be  accom- 
plished. Prayer  helps  man  to  help  himself.  To  admit  freely 
and  frankly  the  limitations  of  prayer  is  to  forestall  perplexity 
and  anxiety  as  to  its  efficacy  within  its  legitimate  sphere.  A 
young  clergyman  recently  remarked  that  if  his  child  were  sick 
unto  death  he  would  pray,  not  for  the  purpose  of  saving  the 
infant's  life,  but  in  order  to  reconcile  himself  to  the  inevitable, 
to  find  comfort  and  resignation  and  submission  in  the  hour 
of  sorrow.  Prayer  does  not  relieve  one  of  some  burdens,  but 
does  infinitely  more  when  it  helps  us  to  bear  them.  Prayer 
alone  will  not  set  a  broken  bone,  but  will  make  the  fingers  of 
the  praying  surgeon  steady  and  create  an  atmosphere  of  good 
cheer  that  will  materially  hasten  recovery. 

Then,  too,  there  are  bounds  set  to  the  power  of  prayer 
within  the  scope  of  suggestion.      Fruitful   as  it  is,  there  are 


^H.  H.  Jackson,  Ramona,  p.  187. 


108  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

many  suggested  ideas  that  the  subconscious  is  powerless  to  bring 
to  maturity.     A  mental  impression  may  fall  within  the  field 
of  suggestion  and  be  too  complex  for 
self-realization.      The    vitality    of    the 
Lack  of  organism   is   too   low   and   the   life   of 

Organic  man    much    too    short    to    answer    too 

Vitality  complex    prayers.      The    prayer    that 

wings  appear  on  the  shoulders  might 
be  answered  if  man  could  live  for  count- 
less milleniums,  and  if  the  life-forces  of  the  personality  were 
powerful  enough  to  realize  such  a  complex  idea.  The  organic 
vitality  of  the  dying  is  often  too  low  to  realize  the  prayer  for  re- 
covery, no  matter  how  firmly  fixed  in  mind  and  confidently 
expected  it  may  be.  The  reactions  of  the  subconscious  to 
suggested  ideas  are  indeed  manifold  and  complex,  but  it  is  by 
no  means  omnipotent;  its  vitality  may  become  exhausted. 

Many  persons  are  temperamentally  disqualified  to  receive 
dramatic  and  striking  answers  to  prayer.  Professor  Coe,  as 
indicated  elsewhere,  has  shown  the  vital  relation  of  religious 
experience  to  temperament.  His  statistics  show  that  where 
striking  religious  experiences  are  attained,  the  element  of  sen- 
sibility predominates  and  the  persons  are  of  the  sanguine 
(prompt- weak)  or  melancholic  (slow-intense)  temperament. 
Those  who  are  subject  to  hallucination  in  general,  are  likely 
to  receive  answers  to  prayer  in  terms  of 
voices  and  visions.    On  the  other  hand, 

_  ^   ,  those    who    expect   striking    and    emo- 

Temperamental  .      ,      , .  .  ^ 

_.  ,.c     ^.  tional   religious  transformations  in   re- 

Disqualiiications  ,        ,    . 

sponse  to  prayer  when  their  prominent 

mental  trait  is  the  intellect,  and  the 
choleric  (prompt-intense)  temperament 
obtains,  are  quite  uniformly  disappointed.^  It  is  a  matter  of 
regret  that  the  religious  experiences  of  the  highly  emotional 
and  suggestible  have  been  standardized  by  some  leading  denomi- 
nations.    The  efforts  of  many  genuinely  religious  persons  to 

^The  Spiritual  Life,  p.  104  ff. 


Unanswered  Prayer  109 

conform  their  religious  experiences  to  the  type  in  favor  with 
their  churches,  despite  temperamental  disqualification,  are  truly 
pathetic  and  often  lead  to  a  revolt  against  religion  itself.  Mr. 
Coe  quotes  a  person  who  expected  but  for  temperamental  reasons 
failed  to  experience  a  striking  conversion.  The  disappointed 
person  says,  "Often  I  arose  from  my  knees  almost  mad  at  my- 
self for  praying  after  having  prayed  so  often  without  results."^ 
It  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  constitution  of  the  mental 
life  determines  the  form  of  the  answer  to  prayer. 

Doubtless  many  unanswered  prayers  are  due  to  a  lack  of 
perseverance  until  one  feels  prompted  from  within  to  cease 
conscious  striving  in  the  direction  of  the  answer.  In  the  par- 
lance of  prayer,  one  should  "pray  through."  In  this  connection 
the  expression  "praying  through"  is 
suggestive.  Many  writers  of  devotional 
-      -       -  studies  of  prayer  emphasize   it.     One 

^  author  says,      loo  many  tail  to  pray 

Perseverance  ...«^:^-««.«i,«w  ^    \ 

through.     It  the  request  is  not  granted 

at  the  first  or  second  asking,  they  cease 
praying  and  say,  'Perhaps  it  isn't  God's 
will,'  and  this  they  call  submission.  Dr.  Torrey  calls  it 
'spiritual  laziness.'  "^  Another  writes,  "The  strong  rnan_o£ 
prayer^^^enTie  start?  to  pray  for  a  thing  keeps  on  praying  untij 
he    prays    \t    thrn\\v\C^^n?ri^t^'m%'^^^  The 

psychologicat'  ValtlC'Of'  "praying  through"  consists  in  stimulat- 
ing the  neural  processes  sufficiently  to  insure  the  desired  result. 
To  continue  the  praying  until  one  feels  ripe  for  the  surrender 
of  the  self  to  the  larger  life-forces  is  the  usual  mode  of  procedure. 
Sometimes  there  is  a  temptation  to  surrender  the  self  in  response 
to  pressure  from  without  before  one  intutitively  feels  prepared. 
Premature  self-surrender  under  the  social  pressure  of  an  exciting 
revival  is  doubtless  responsible  for  many  subsequent  cases  of 
"backsliding."     Before  the  new  personality  has  fully  matured 

^The  Spiritual  Life,  p.  149. 

^W.    G.    Biederwolf,    How    Can    God   Answer    Prayer? 

p.  216. 
^R.  A.  Torrey,  How  to  Pray,  p.  66. 


lip  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

and  is  of  its  own  accord  seeking  admittance  into  consciousness, 
self-surrender  is  worse  than  useless.  When  the  subconscious 
product  is  ready  to  report  itself,  it  knocks  gently  on  the  door 
of  consciousness.  The  teaching  of  Jesus  as  set  forth  in  his 
parables  of  the  Importunate  Widow  and  the  Midnight  Visitor, 
is  a  remarkable  plea  for  perseverance  in  prayer  until  the  answer 
comes.  The  want  of  a  faith  that  knows  no  respite  from  its 
endeavor  to  realize  the  prayer  is  an  invariable  guarantee  of 
failure. 

What  we  have  called  contrary  or  negative  auto-suggestion 
is  another  prolific  source  of  failure  in  prayer.  In  the  discussion 
of  auto-suggestion  it  was  pointed  out  that  in  order  to  be  most 
effective  the  self-suggested  idea  should  be  positive.  Since  what- 
ever is  in  the  mind  tends  to  express  itself,  only  what  one  wishes 
to  attain  should  engage  the  attention.  A  physician  relates 
that  he  once  treated  a  young  man 
addicted  to  a  loathsome  vice.  The 
_  efforts    to    relieve    the   patient   seemed 

.  -  ^  .  to  have  no  effect.     One  day  a  friendly 

Auto- Suggestion  .,      ,        i     •  •        ,• 

°°  conversation    with    the    physician    dis- 

closed the  fact  that  the  young  man 
was  persistently  praying  to  be  delivered 
from  the  evil  which  was  sapping  his  vitality.  Believing  that 
he  had  found  the  key  to  the  situation,  the  physician  ordered  him 
to  cease  praying  at  once.  Obeying  the  order,  the  patient  was 
cured  in  a  short  time.  It  was  the  opinion  of  the  physician  that 
the  prayers  of  the  young  man  actually  retarded  his  recovery 
because  they  were  merely  a  rehearsal  of  the  foul  elements  which 
he  desired  to  eliminate.  Too  much  stress  cannot  be  placed  upon 
the  central  fact  of  suggestion,  which  is  that  an  idea  attended 
to  tends  to  express  itself.  The  fundamental  principle  of  sug- 
gestion rests  back  upon  the  doctrine  that  all  consciousness  is 
motor.  Doubtless  too  many  prayers  are  worse  than  useless 
because  the  mind  is  not  filled  with  the  ideas  and  ideals  of  posi- 
tive virtues.  On  the  other  hand,  it  must  not  be  inferred  that 
no  prayer  clothed  in  negative  terms  is  effectual.  It  is  conceiv- 
able that  in  some  cases  prayer  in  the  form  of  negative  ideas  may 


Unanswered  Prayer  111 

act  as  a  process  of  psychoanalysis  or  katharsis  which  purges 
the  personality  of  the  undesirable  element.  In  the  long  run  it 
is  safer  to  avoid  the  mental  imagery  of  what  one  desires  to  rid 
the  self  of  by  fixing  the  mind  on  positive  virtues. 

Many  prayers  are  ineffectual  because  they  are  "vain  re- 
petitions."    When   the   act  of   prayer  receives   an   inadequate 
degree  of  attention  it  may  become  purely  automatic  and  thus 
generate  vitality  and  drain  off  through  its  open  functional  paths 
any  distracting  impressions  which  tend  to  interrupt  its  repeti- 
tion.      Hypocrisy,     mental     indolence, 
lack   of   personal   initiative,   habit   and 
.  perfunctory    observance    of    the    forms 

.^         ....  of   the   religious   life   are  some  of   the 

Repetitions  r      »       •  »»  nyr 

sources  or  vam  repetitions.  Mr. 
Phelps  says,  "Perhaps  even  so  slight  a 
thing  as  the  pain  of  the  resistance  to  the 
momentum  of  a  habit,  will  be  found  the  most  distinct  reason 
we  can  honestly  give  for  having  prayed  yesterday  or  to-day."^ 
"Vain  repetitions"  as  automatisms  set  free  energy  which  may 
be  expended  in  attending  to  something  wholly  foreign  to  prayer. 
Gentle  promptings  to  devotion  may  be  discharged  through  the 
channels  opened  by  the  "vain  repetitions."  Instead  of  stimulat- 
ing the  subconscious  in  the  direction  of  the  answer  to  the  prayer 
framed  by  the  lips,  the  insincere  or  thoughtless  repetitions  may 
increase  subliminal  incubation  along  lines  positively  inimical  to 
the  higher  life.  A  case  in  point  is  the  misuse  of  the  rosary. 
While  praying  by  means  of  this  mechanical  device,  the  petitioner 
may  automatically  reiterate  the  series  of  Pater  Nosters,  Ave 
Marias,  and  Glorias,  and  be  all  the  time  meditating  something 
radically  different  from  the  "mysteries." 

Many  prayers  made  during  periods  of  spiritual  dryness 
are  unanswered.  The  course  of  life  may  for -some  time  continue 
to  be  so  even  and  uneventful  that  prayer,  if  offered  at  all,  has 
its  rise  in  a  sense  of  religious  obligation,  and  not  in  an  emergency. 
An  unbroken  course  of  life  offers  too  little  occasion  for  prayer, 

''The  Still  Hour,  p.  13. 


112  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

and  hence  the  praying  which  does  occur  is  either  almost  auto- 
matic, or  a  painful  effort  to  hold  in  mental  focus  an  idea  too 
uninteresting  readily  to  attract  and  grip  the  attention.  Some 
devout  souls  ascribe  these  times  of  spiritual  drought  to  hardness 
and  "unbelief  of  heart."^  The  very 
anguish  and  torture  of  mind  such  per- 
Periods  of  sons    suffer    in    consequence    of    their 

Spiritual  difficulty  to  maintain  a  keen  interest  in 

Dryness  the  prayer  life  at  all  times  is  in  itself 

proof  that  what  they  lack  is  not  belief 
of  heart,   but  fresh  experiences  which 
will  occasion  prayer.     From  this  point  of  view  it  is  perfectly 
intelligible  why  the  rosary  is  considered  so  essential  to  devotion 
by  those  who  lead  the  secluded  and  monotonous  existence  of  the 
cloister.    Variety  is  the  spice  of  the  prayer  life.    The  tendency 
of  effective  prayer  is  to  vary  directly  with  the  vicissitudes  of  life. 
If  the  prayer  made  involves  a  complex  subconscious  pro- 
cess and  hence  a  long  series  of  repetitions,  occasional  periods 
of  rest  should  be  observed.     In  some  cases  the  answer  comes 
more  quickly  than  in  others.     One  is  w^arranted  in  anticipating 
that  under  normal  conditions  the  time 
consumed    in    answering    the    petition 
.  would  vary  directly  with  the  complexity 

.J  of  the  object  of  the  prayer.    The  prayer 

of  Mr.  Sunday  on  the  base-ball  field 
was  answered  almost  instantaneously, 
but  the  prayer  of  a  sick  soul  for  regen- 
eration requires  frequent  repetition  and  a  much  longer  period 
of  time.  It  requires  less  time  to  induce  a  momentary  state  of 
confidence  than  it  does  to  construct  an  entirely  new  personality. 
While  an  active  faith  is  straining  in  the  general  direction  of 
the  answer  to  prayer  and  the  corresponding  nutritive  processes 
are  being  set  up,  innumerable  hindering  tendencies  are  also  being 
built  up.  If  no  period  of  rest  obtains,  the  inhibiting  tendencies 
a:re  likely  to  become  so  developed  that  they  undo  the  work  in 

^See  A.  L.  Strong,  The  Psychology  of  Prayer,  p.  109. 


Unanswered  Prayer  113 

the  right  direction.     During  a  period  of  rest  the  less  firmly 

intrenched  hindering  activities  tend  to  atrophy,  while  the  more 

deeply  ingrained  correct  impressions  mature.    The  time  required 

for  the  subconscious  maturing  of  a  complex  prayer  may  account 

for  some  cases  of  so-called  delayed  answers,  which  are  ordinarily 

attributed  to  the  overruling  wisdom  of  God  who  knows  best 

when  to  grant  the  petitions  of  his  children. 

As  has  been  repeatedly  stated,  the  most  frequent  reason 

given  for  unanswered  prayer  is  want  of  faith.     The  apostle 

says,  **But  let  him  ask  in  faith,  nothing  wavering.     For  he  that 

wavereth  is  like  a  wave  of  the  sea  driven  with  the  wind  and 

tossed.     For  let  not  that  man  think  that  he  shall  receive  any 

thing  of  the  Lord."^    Lack  of  faith  is  unquestionably  a  primary 

cause  of  failure  in  the  religious  life.   In 

order  to  be  kept  burning,  the  flame  of 

XTT     ^     t  faith    must    be    constantly    fed.     The 

Want  of  ....  J-         r  1. 

„  .  ,  judicious  reading  or  prayer  literature, 

the  testimony  of  others  whose  prayer 
life  is  inspirational,  the  recollection  of 
positive  past  experiences,  may  nourish 
the  faith  state.  Such  exercises  do  not  debar  a  psychological 
interpretation  of  prayer.  Although  the  power  in  which  faith 
is  reposed  is  immaterial  in  so  far  as  the  answering  of  the  prayer 
per  se  is  concerned,  it  is  unthinkable  to  exercise  an  abstract 
faith;  normal  faith  is  localized.  When  once  a  scientific  read- 
justment to  prayer  has  been  made,  many  and  sufficient  reasons 
are  found  for  reposing  the  fullest  confidence  in  prayer.  An- 
alysis rationalizes  faith.  If  prayer  is  reducible  to  laws  which 
we  can  trace,  it  is  rational  to  believe  that  the  Power  manifesting 
itself  in  these  laws  will  invariably  express  itself  in  terms  of 
them  whenever  and  wherever  the  conditions  are  met. 

It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  the  success  of  all 
prayers  depending  upon  the  co-operation  of  others  is  due  to 


^ James  I ;  6-7. 


114  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

their  value  as  social  suggestions.     In  all  such  prayers  two  ex- 
tremes invite  failure, — entire  ignorance  of   them  on   the  part 
of  the  person  to  be  influenced,  and  too 
direct    information    of    them.     Where 
-      -      -  there  is  no  hint  taken,  there  can  be  no 

T   r  ^.  social  suggestion.  Although  the  avenues 

iniormation  ,         i       i  •  i  ... 

through  which  we  receive  miormation 

are  many,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  many 
prayers  are  unanswered  because  the 
proper  persons  have  no  knowledge  of  them.  There  is  much  to 
be  said  for  the  small  boy  who  prayed  for  Christmas  presents  in 
3.  voice  perfectly  audible  to  his  rather  deaf  grandmother  who  was 
'istening  to  his  evening  prayer.  Although  he  was  addressing 
his  petitions  to  the  heavenly  throne,  he  was  making  sure  that 
his  grandmother  knew  just  what  he  wanted  for  Christmas.  Of 
course  the  mere  receiving  of  information  is  not  a  pledge  of 
reciprocity ;  that  depends  upon  the  suggestibility  of  the  receiver. 
Since  women  are  more  suggestible  than  men,  one  would  expect 
them  to  respond  to  prayer  more  readily  than  men  do.^  In  men 
the  intellect  is  more  prominent;  the  emotions  are  focused  on 
definite  objects  and  at  definite  times;  the  resistance  to  influences 
from  without  is  greater.  In  women  sensibility  is  more  prom- 
inent; the  emotions  are  more  constant,  gentle  and  diffused; 
they  yield  more  readily  to  ordinary  influences;  hence  the  con- 
clusion that  women  are  more  likely  to  answer  social  prayers 
than  men  are. 

On  the  other  hand,  too  much  and  too  direct  information 
of  the  social  prayer  is  likely  to  result  in  counter-suggestion. 
This  is  especially  true  of  the  male  sex  with  its  marked  tendency 
to  resist  ordinary  influences  from  without.  Indirect  social  sug- 
gestion in  the  form  of  mere  hints  and  cues  is  likely  to  induce 
the  state  of  suggestibility.  Dr.  Sidis  formulates  what  he  calls 
the  law  of  normal  or  waking  suggestion  as  follows:  "Normal 
suggestibility  varies  as  indirect  suggestion,  and  inversely  as  direct 


^See  Havelock  Ellis,  Man  and  Womanj  chapter  xii. 


Unanswered  Prayer  tl5 

suggestion."^  In  other  words:  "In  the  normal  state  a  sugges- 
tion is  more  effective  the  more  indirect  it  is,  and  in  proportion 
as  it  becomes  direct  it  loses  its  efficacy."^  Among  his  examples 
of  indirect  suggestion,  the  following  may  be  quoted:  "My 
friend  Mr.  A.  is  absent-minded;  he  sits  near  the  table,  thinking 
of  some  abstruse  mathematical  problem  that  baffles  all  his 
efforts  to  solve  it.  Absorbed  in  the  solution  of  the  intractable 
problem,  he  is  blind  and  deaf  to  what  is  going  on  around  him. 
His  eyes  are  directed  on  the  table,  but  he  appears  not  to  see  any 
of  the  objects  there.  I  put  two  glasses  of  water  on  the  table, 
and  at  short  intervals  make  passes  in  the  direction  of  the  glasses 
— passes  which  he  seems  not  to  preceive;  then  I  resolutely 
stretch  out  my  hand,  take  one  of  the  glasses,  and  begin  to  drink. 
My  friend  follows  suit — dreamily  he  raises  his  hand,  takes  the 
glass  and  begins  to  sip,  awakening  fully  to  consciousness  when 
a  good  part  of  the  tumbler  is  emptied."^  To  tell  the  person 
openly  and  plainly  what  is  expected  of  him,  is  to  invite  the 
failure  of  the  suggestion ;  hence  some  object  is  produced,  or  some 
appropriate  gesture  or  movement  is  made,  and  these  in  their 

own  indirect  way  tell  him  what  to  do. 

Applying  the  law  of  normal  suggestion 

_    ,.  to  prayers  intended  to  influence  others, 

Indirect  v         •  i        l        l  ... 

_  .  It  IS  evident  that  when  a  mere  mtimation 

Suggestion  c  ■  ^ 

°°  or  a  social  prayer  is  sown  into  a  recep- 

tive mind,  the  harvest  is  likely  to  be 
more  abundant  than  when  much  infor- 
mation is  directly  given  and  received.  Religious  interest  may  be 
expressed  in  a  look  or  attitude  of  concern,  a  warm  hand-shake, 
or  between  the  lines  of  a  letter.  We  have  observed  how 
the  personality  responds  to  delicate  and  immediate  stimuli, 
how  the  subconscious  will  take  note  of  data  imperceptible 
to  the  waking  consciousness  and  elaborate  them.  The 
outcome    of  the    social    prayer    is    relatively    dependent    upon 


^The  Psychology  of  Suggestion,  p.  55. 
Hbid.,  p.  52. 
Hbid.,  p.  6. 


116  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

the  ability  of  the  transmitter  to  given  subtle  indications  of  his 
inward  states,  and  upon  the  receiver's  capacity  to  interpret  the 
delicate  impressions  and  upon  his  suggestibility  to  them.  Some 
persons  are  notorious  transmitters:  a  stolid  exterior  hides  their 
inner  life.  Others  are  all  the  time  exhibiting  the  tell-tale  signs 
of  w^hat  is  moving  them.  The  difference  in  receivers  is  fully  as 
marked.  The  subconscious  of  some  persons  is  unusually  sen- 
sitive and  w^here  this  is  true  there  is  generally  a  tendency  to 
rely  upon  the  intuitions.  On  the  other  hand,  every  one  has 
come  in  contact  w^ith  the  person  who  seemingly  cannot  take 
a  hint.  When  a  social  prayer  connects  an  efficient  transmitter 
and  a  sensitive  and  suggestible  receiver,  the  conditions  for  a 
positive  reaction  are  auspicous.  Doubtless  many  social  prayers 
are  unanswered  because  the  persons  involved  are  deficient  trans- 
mitters and  receivers.  When  it  is  satisfactorily  interpreted, 
the  unanswered  social  prayer  is  not  wholly  in  vain,  for  the 
petition  turns  on  itself  and  arouses  the  social  sympathies  of  the 
petitioner. 

Still  another  reason  why  so  many  prayers  are  futile  is  to 
be  found  in  an  unsettled  mental  attitude  toward  the  whole 
subject  of  prayer.  In  the  face  of  the  complexity  and  enormity 
of  the  universe  one  may  feel  so  small  and  insignificant  that 
doubts  arise  as  to  the  probability  of  reaching  God  through 
prayer.  When  this  mental  state  obtains,  prayers  decrease  in 
number  and  intensity.  When  prayer  is  made,  the  idea  to  be 
realized  is  not  freely  accepted,  and  is  therefore  not  influential 
in  giving  point  and  direction  to  the  subconscious  activities. 
Another  person  may  experience  doubt  and  perplexity  because  no 
answer  has  been  obtained  to  requests  for  things  outside  the  scope 
of  prayer.  Failure  to  discriminate  against  unscientific  petitions 
induces  doubt  as  to  the  efficacy  of  prayer  in  any  case.    If  he  does 


Unanswered  Prayer  117 

make  a  prayer,  it  is  not  imposed  upon  the  mind  with  sufficient 
force  to  insure  success.  Still  another  person  may  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  psychological  principles  under- 
lying prayer,  and  react  to  the  revela- 
tion  in  terms  of  disparagement  or  self- 
consciousness.  Forced  to  yield  his  be- 
^  lief  that  God  answers  prayers  directly 

without  any  intermedium,  by  departures 
from  the  natural  order,  he  may  at  first 
blush  eliminate  God  from  his  interpretation  of  the  mental 
processes  involved  in  the  answering  of  prayer.  The  depreciation 
of  the  prayer  life  makes  it  impossible  to  exercise  the  proper 
degree  of  faith,  and  consequently  any  petitions  he  may  make 
are  useless.  Often  the  insight  into  the  psychological  elements 
of  prayer  results  in  self-consciousness.  The  attention  is  focused 
on  the  means  of  answering  the  prayer.  Thinking  of  how  the 
answer  is  to  come  instead  of  the  idea  to  be  realized,  is  almost 
certain  to  hinder  the  uncritical  acceptance  of  the  self-suggestion. 
In  the  description  of  auto-suggestion  given  above,  it  was  pointed 
out  that  the  most  effective  cases  of  suggestion  are  those  in  which 
the  person  has  no  conscious  knowledge  of  applying  the  prin- 
ciples of  suggestion.  Mrs.  Wiggins  in  a  bit  of  doggerel  aptly 
describes  the  plight  of  a  centipede  which  was  quite  happy  until 
the  frog's  inquiry,  "Pray,  which  leg  comes  after  which?" 
excited  his  mind  to  such  an  extent  that  he  lay  distracted  in 
a  ditch,  considering  how  to  run.  In  all  such  cases  of  mental 
uncertainty  a  readjustment  to  the  universe  as  it  really  is  is  the 
only  remedy.  The  normal  man  passes  through  three  stages 
in  his  conception  and  practice  of  prayer.  As  a  child  he  is 
credulous  and  uncritically  accepts  whatever  he  is  taught  of  the 
place  and  power  of  prayer.  As  an  adolescent  he  passes  through 
an  inconoclastic  period  and  ruthlessly  underrates  the  life  of 
prayer.  This  stage  is  normally  followed  by  a  period  of  recon- 
struction which  is  characterized  by  the  larger  view  of  life.  He 
who  stood  amazed  in  the  presence  of  the  complexity  of  the  uni- 
verse now  waxes  bold  enough  to  assert  his  individuality  in  the 
conviction  that  he  is  an  integral  part  of  a  larger  whole.     He 


Hi  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

who  was  perplexed  because  in  some  cases  the  answer  to  prayer 
failed  to  come,  now  freely  accepts  the  limits  of  prayer  and  finds 
within  the  range  of  personal  influence  an  inexhaustible  source 
of  power.  He  who  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  machinery  of  prayer 
and  stood  abashed  and  embarrassed,  in  the  course  of  time  learns 
to  ignore  the  processes  underlying  the  answering  of  prayer  and 
to  confine  his  attention  to  the  great  purpose  of  prayer.  As  life 
ripens  and  mellows  the  foundations  of  prayer  become  increas- 
ingly secure. 

Although  the  sources  of  futile  praying  have  by  no  means 
been  exhaustively  treated,  enough,  it  is  hoped,  has  been  said 
to  show  the  direction  in  which  one  may  look  for  the  reasons  for 
unanswered   prayers.      What   has   been   offered    indicates   that 
negative  prayer  experiences  may  invariably  be  traced  to  elements 
which  inhibit,  or  reduce  to  the  point  of  failure,  the  state  of  sug- 
gestibility.    By  way  of  conclusion  and 
summary  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  draw 
some  inferences  from  this  brief  study. 
Summary  In  order  to  contribute  to  an  adjustment 

of  the  self  to  ideal  ends,  prayer  should 
seek  the  deeper  levels  of  moral  insight. 
Although  the  answering  of  the  prayer 
does  not  depend  upon  the  moral  quality  of  the  petition,  for  the 
sake  of  the  conservation  of  the  eternal  verities  a  sense  of  ethical 
fitness  should  regulate  the  prayer  life.  Since  the  field  of  prayer 
is  restricted  to  personal  influence,  it  is  well  to  discriminate 
against  all  unscientific  petitions.  Man  is  not  justified  in  sighing 
for  new  worlds  to  conquer  religiously,  when  he  has  not  yet 
exhausted  the  possibilities  of  prayer  within  its  limited  range. 
The  limits  of  prayer  cannot  be  said  to  be  narrow  when  within 
them  we  find  every  moral  and  spiritual  need  supplied.  Neither 
is  it  a  reason  for  complaint  that  within  its  proper  sphere  prayer 
is  conditioned  by  the  vitality  of  the  organism.  The  average 
individual  has  subconscious  energy  enough  to  realize  his  peti- 
tions for  moral  and  spiritual  benefits.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  it  is  useless  to  expect  answers  to  prayer  for  which  one  is 
totally  disqualified  by  reason  of  temperament.     Mental  struc- 


Unansive?'ed  Prayer  119 

ture,  not  character,  determines  the  form  of  the  religious  experi- 
ence. The  substance  is  essential,  the  form  is  non-essential. 
Furthermore,  perseverance  is  absolutely  indispensible  to  a  suc- 
cessful prayer  life.  Persistency  in  prayer  is  the  price  of  I 
religious  advancement.  The  prayer  itself  should  be  stated  or  ' 
thought  in  positive  terms.  To  arouse  the  mental  imagery  of 
the  undesirable  has  a  tendency  to  intrench  it  the  more  firmly. 
Let  not  the  liar  pray  to  be  delivered  from  lying  lips,  but  let  him 
pray  for  the  positive  virtue  of  truthfulness;  let  not  the  thief 
pray  for  deliverance  from  the  vice  of  stealing,  but  let  him  pray  ,^ 
for  honesty;  let  not  the  sick  struggle  away  from  disease,  but 
pray  for  health.  Let  the  grow^th  of  positive  virtues  eliminate 
evil.  Now^here  is  insincerity  more  unfortunate  than  in  prayer. 
The  maker  of  the  "vain  repetition"  does  not  apply  the  prin- 
ciples which  add  to  the  w^orld's  stock  of  morality.  The  'Vain 
repetition"  turns  on  itself  and  becomes  instrumental  in  subvert- 
ing the  moral  life.  Times  of  spiritual  dryness  occasion  much 
dejection  and  depression  among  earnest  religious  persons.  While 
they  last,  periods  of  religious  drought  make  prayer  extremely 
difficult  to  maintain.  It  is  only  natural  that  the  crises  rather 
than  the  uneventful  periods  of  life  give  rise  to  most  of  the 
efifectual  prayers,  therefore  pious  souls  should  not  despair  v^hen 
times  of  spiritual  dearth  come.  In  order  that  hindering  tend- 
encies arising  through  effort  may  evaporate  and  the  correct 
associations  mature  unmolested,  periods  of  rest  are  necessary 
during  the  subconscious  production  of  a  complex  object  of 
prayer.  After  one  has  earnestly  prayed  for  a  season,  to  cease 
is  not  to  mark  time,  but  to  make  a  distinct  advance.  Without 
faith,  vs^hich  directs  subconscious  incubation  and  then  at  the 
appointed  time  assumes  an  attitude  of  passivity  and  receptivity, 
effective  prayer  is  impossible.  The  prayer  life  of  a  double- 
minded  man  is  unstable  in  every  way.  Prayers  which  have  ^. 
for  their  end  the  influencing  of  others  depend  for  their  efficacy 
upon  social  suggestion.  Total  ignorance  of  the  social  prayer, 
or  too  direct  information  leading  to  counter  suggestion,  imperil 
the  answer.  To  pray  at  a  person  is  to  subject  the  social  prayer 
to  failure.    The  most  auspicious  circumstances  for  the  answering 


120  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

of  social  prayers  obtain  when  the  praying  self  and  the  self  to 
be  reached  associate  under  normal  conditions  and  no  conscious 
and  direct  effort  is  made  to  impart  the  content  of  the  petition. 
The  sensitivity  of  the  subconscious  may  be  relied  upon  to  in- 
terpret the  hints  of  the  prayer  and  the  outward  manifestations 
of  the  religious  interest  of  the  petitioner.  Normal  indirect 
suggestion  increases  suggestibility;  normal  direct  suggestion 
decreases  suggestibility.  Life  is  all  the  while  subconsciously 
interpreting  life.  When  doubts  and  fears  assail  the  prayer 
life,  the  person  should  have  the  courage  of  a  scientist  to  examine 
and  sift  the  facts  of  religion.  There  is  time  enough  to  discard 
prayer  after  it  has  had  a  hearing  and  been  found  wanting.  A 
scientific  interpretation  of  prayer  often  creates  a  breach  in  the 
religious  consciousness,  a  breach  which  only  a  wider  conception 
of  the  universe  can  heal.  To  point  out  the  wider  considerations 
which  grow  out  of  a  scientific  description  of  prayer  is  the  task 
of  the  next  and  last  chapter. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

WIDER  CONSIDERATIONS 

That  private  prayer  is  suffused  with  auto-suggestion  is 
the  conclusion  to  which  this  study  points.  The  varieties  of 
private  prayer  do  not  involve  an  equal  and  even  distribution  of 
auto-suggestion.  In  some  cases  it  is  more  prominent  than  in 
others.  In  petitional  prayers  answered 
through  the  individual  himself  the  ele- 
Auto-Suggestion  ment  of   auto-suggestion   is  most  pro- 

in  Private  nounced.    In  prayers  answered  through 

Prayer  the  co-operation   of  others  social  sug- 

gestion is  the  chief  element.  In  devo- 
tional prayers,  such  as  those  of  confes- 
sion and  praise,  the  influence  of  psychoanalysis  is  marked,  but 
these  prayers  may  lead  to  others  involving  a  decided  element  of 
suggestion.  When  an  evil  is  not  consumed  through  the  process 
of  confession  itself,  its  eradication  or  modification  may  be  accom- 
plished through  petitional  prayers.  Although  psychoanalysis 
characterizes  the  prayers  of  thanksgiving,  adoration  and  worship, 
they  may  be  continued  until  one-sided  mental  activity  coupled 
with  a  general  tendency  to  hallucination  leads  to  a  state  of 
ecstasy  describable  in  terms  of  auto-suggestion. 

Such  a  reduction  of  prayer  to  the  operation  of  mental  laws 
combined  with  a  religious  flavor  and  sanction,  raises  vital  ques- 
tions the  answers  to  which  demand  wider  considerations.  Should 
the  prayer-habit  be  discontinued?  How  does  the  reduction 
of  prayer  to  psychological  principles  religiously  sanctioned  affect 
the  doctrine  of  the  freedom  of  the  will?  How  does  such  an 
interpretation  influence  the  conception 
of  the  nature  and  character  of  God? 
^         .  These  questions  aim  at  the  center  of 

^  .     J  things  by  which  men  live,  and  merit 

serious   consideration.      They    are   spe- 
cializations of  the  inquiry  as  to  whether 
such  a  description  of  prayer  is  recon- 
cilable with  a  religious,  self-determinative,  idealistic  pholosophy. 


122  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

To  be  sure  the  science  of  phychology  is  chiefly  concerned  with 
mental  processes  as  such  and  when  it  undertakes  to  view  its 
data  in  relation  to  ultimate  realities  it  has  become  for  the  time 
being  philosophy,  and  still  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  suggest  a  pos- 
sible adjustment  of  prayer  as  set  forth  in  these  pages  to  a  spiritual 
conception  of  the  universe. 

Should  the  prayer  life  be  cultivated  or  uprooted?  When 
we  can  dispense  with  the  Christian  religion  with  profit,  we 
may  at  the  same  time  discard  prayer.  Christianity  and  prayer 
stand  or  fall  together.  It  is  the  function  of  religion  to  adjust 
the  self  to  what  it  conceives  to  be  the  plan  and  purpose  of 
God.  Prayer  in  some  form  is  the  means  through  which  the  self 
makes  this  adjustment.  All  the  lines  of  Christianity  converge  in 
prayer.  This  type  of  religious  behavior  is  essentially  prayerful. 
Prayerful  adaption  to  a  spiritual  order  exerts  a  reflex 
influence  on  the  adjustment  to  the 
physical  environment,  on  the  biological 
Should  life  of  man.     Holding  the  question  of 

Prayer  Be  the  existence  of  a  spiritual  basis  of  the 

Retained?  universe  in  abeyance,  let  us  be  content 

to  rest  the  case  of  prayer  on  its  contri- 
bution to  a  better  adjustment  to  man's 
environment.  J[fjt  can  be  shown  tjiat  prayer  is  a  signal  factor 
in  the  biological  fortunes  of  man,  there  Is  "sufficient  'rea~son  Tor 
its  use.  The  question,  tKeri,""Ts7  Is  pHyer^^ 
in  man's  struggle  for  more  physical  life?  Has  it  selective  value, 
that  is  to  say,  in  the  process  of  evolution  are  the  praying  in- 
dividuals, other  things  being  equal,  selected  out  and  numbered 
with  the  surviving  fittest?  The  writer  is  fully  persuaded  that 
prayer  bristles  with  signs  of  selective  value.  Passing  in  rapid 
review  a  few  typical  results  of  prayer  may  establish  the  truth 
of  this  statement. 

Let   us   note   the   biological   value   of   personal   petitions. 
Surely  regeneration,  the  breaking  of  evil  habits,  the  cure  of  dis- 


Wider  Considerations  123 

ease,   help   in   a   predicament,   coming   in   response   to   prayer, 
play  an  important  part  in  the  process  of  natural  selection.     Byj 
virtue  of  new  life-forces  released  within   I 
him,  a  deep-seated  peace  with  the  uni-    \r\  ( 
Personal  verse,   high   aspirations   and   noble   en-     \^ 

Petitions  and  deavor,  the  social  life  of  the  Church,      \ 

Physical  Life  the    reading   of    wholesome    literature,       j 

the  expansion  of  the  personality  in  / 
deeds  of  mercy  and  help, — by  virtue  of  I 
these  and  unmentioncd  factors,  the  regenerated  man  is  likely  ( 
to  survive  his  unconverted  neighbor  who  stands  in  need  of  a  i 
recasting  of  the  self.  Religion  at  its  best  promotes  the  normal 
functioning  of  the  organism:  evil  associations,  a  nameless  dread 
of  the  future,  are  physically  depressing.^  Two  persons,  let  us 
say,  are  painfully  aware  that  an  evil  habit  is  the  occasion  of 
their  maladjustment  to  the  environment.  To  the  one  praying 
for  it  deliverance  finally  comes,  and  his  organism  in  the  course 
of  time  recovers  something  of  its  old-time  vigor.  The  one  who 
persists  in  his  riotous  living  pays  the  penalty  in  decreased  bodily 
strength  and  premature  death.  It  requires  no  gift  of  prophecy 
to  foretell  unto  whom  the  race  of  life  will  be.  Prayer  for  the 
cure  of  disease  concerns  itself  directly  with  the  preservation  of 
biological  life.  In  a  crisis  when  life  hangs  in  the  balance  belief 
in  the  power  of  prayer  may  be  the  factor  which  determines  the 
recovery  of  the  patient.  Since  beliefs  tend  to  realize  them- 
selves, the  sick  who  pray  for  recovery  are  more  likely  to  live 
than  their  fellow-sufferers  who  disdain  prayer  and  are  certain 
that  they  are  about  to  die.  Still  another  poignant  illustration 
of  the  biological  significance  of  prayer  is  the  answer  to  the  pe- 
tition for  help  in  a  trying  situation.  In  an  extremity  the  person 
prays  that  he  may  be  divinely  guided:  the  petition  calms  the 
mind  and  enables  him  to  think  clearly;  it  relieves  the  body 
of  the  tension  of  fear  and  makes  effective  action  possible.  His 
troubled  but  disbelieving  rival  struggles  on  in  increasing  con- 
fusion and  panic  which  inhibit  incisive  thinking  and  successful 

^See  H.  Begbie,  Twice-Born  Men. 


124  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

muscular  activity.  In  the  struggle  for  physical  existence  the 
odds  are  against  him  and  in  favor  of  his  prayerful  neighbor, 
other  things  being  equal  . 

Nor  is  selective  value  confined  to  petitional  prayers:  de- 
votional prayers  abound  in  it.  The  qualms  of  conscience  make 
progress  difficult.  The  prayer  of  confession  restores  peace  of 
mind.  It  is  self-evident  that  he  whose  prayer  of  confession  has 
been  followed  by  a  sense  of  union  with  God  is  better  fitted 
for  the  struggle  of  life  than  he  who  is  tormented  by  the  con- 
sciousness of  disharmony  with  the  uni- 
verse. The  unconfessed  element  dis- 
The  Selective  turbs  the  unity  of  consciousness,  and  as 

Value  of  Devotional  a  consequence  physical  maladjustment 
Prayers  to  the  environment  follows.    Much  the 

same  may  be  said  concerning  the  prayers 
of  adoration,  thanksgiving  and  worship. 
When  the  impulses  to  worship,  adore  or  thank  God  are  set  free, 
a  sense  of  satisfaction  and  relief  obtains,  which  favors  the 
physical  life.  But  when  the  impulses  to  devotion  are  not  liber- 
ated and  only  half-suppressed  they  haunt  the  mind  and,  in  cases 
of  extreme  nervous  instability,  induce  hysteria.  Ordinarily 
the  partially  repressed  impulses  bring  on  nervousness  than  which 
state  of  mind  none  is  less  conducive  to  physical  efficiency.  Other 
things  being  equal,  the  devotional  life  by  reason  of  its  unity 
and  freedom  is  likely  to  survive  the  irreligious  life. 

Nor  are  the  prayers  that  mean  to  enlist  the  co-operation  of 
others  wanting  in  selective  significance.  Finding  it  impossible 
by  his  own  unaided  eiforts  to  adjust  himself  to  circumstances, 
the  person  invokes  the  Deity  to  place  at  his  disposal  the  resources 
of  the  more  fortunate.  The  help  that  comes  in  response  to 
the  petition  enables  him  to  make  the  adjustment  and  to  con- 
serve life.  Thus  far  the  selective  value  of  the  prayers  intended 
to  conserve  and  enlarge  the  devotee 
himself  has  been  considered,  but  he  is 
The  Selective  usually  solicitous  not  only  for  himself 

Value  of  Social  but  also  for  the  welfare  of  the  species. 

Prayers  He  prays  for  others.     His  most  fervent 

prayers  of  intercession  are  for  the  mem- 
bers of  his  own  household  who  bear  his 
name  and  strain.     Such  prayers  may  have  their  genesis  in  an 


Wider  Considerations  125 

instinct  to  perpetuate  himself  by  doing  his  utmost  to  make  his  / 
children  fit  to  survive.     But  the  intercession  is  not  necessarily  ' 
restricted  to  one's  blood  relatives;  specific  prayers  for  others i 
in  whose  w^ell-being  one  has  become  interested  may  be  made.  \ 
Whenever  his  intercessory  prayers  are  answ^ered,  the  seeds  of  \ 
an  individual's  personality  have  sprung  up  to  bear  fruit  after  his     \ 
kind.     In  helping  others  to  make  a  better  adjustment,  he  is  in-      \ 
creasing  his  own  life,  for  the  personality  is  enriched  by  giving 
as  well  as  by  taking.     It  is  reasonable  to  infer  that  he  who       | 
never  makes  intercession   foregoes  a  means  of  quickening  his 
own  personal  life  and  those  to  whom  he  looks  for  the  continuity       / 
of  his  name  and  blood.     The  sacred  flame  of  the  torch  of  life     / 
which  is  handed  down  to  future  generations  will  be  the  dimmer    j 
for  the  lack  of  intercessory  prayer.  / 

In  the  light  of  the  above  facts  i&  would  seem  that  one  is  li 
justified  in  holding  that  the  praying  individual,  other  things  I 
being  equal,  will  survive  his  unbelieving  fellow-man  in  the  | 
struggle  for  physical  existence.     In  most  instances,  it  is  safe    i 

to  say,  the  biological  bearing  of  prayer     I 

is    at    the    remotest    remove    from    the     \ 
Prayer  Stands  mind  engaged  in  prayer.     The  prayer 

the  Test  of  is  generally  made  to  obtain  immediate 

Utility  satisfaction    without    any    reference    to 

a     more     remote     biological     purpose. 

Nevertheless,  prayer  does  work  of  the 
highest  order   in   furthering   adaptations   to   the   environment.       ■ 
Weighed  in  the  balances  of  utility  it  is  by  no  means  found 
wanting.     It  is  a  reckless  hand  that  would  relegate  it  to  the 
rubbish-heap  which  has  accumulated  during  the  upward  trend 
of  mankind.     Unlike  the  more  than  seventy  vestigial  structures 
in   the  human   body,  prayer  has  not  lost  its  function  in   the    ^\ 
development  of  the  race.     It  must  not,  however,  be  understood     ■ 
that  prayer  subserves  only  biological  ends,  that  it  has  no  func- 
tion other  than  to  give  more  physical  life.     It  will  be  recalled 
that  it  was  agreed  to  limit  the  discussion  of  prayer  to  its  bearing 
upon  the  biological  fortunes  of  man.     A  more  comprehensive 
evaluation  would  disclose  its  significance  as  a  molder  of  char- 


126  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

acter,  and  character  persists  when  the  body  has  served  its  purpose. 
The  second  question  which  arose  is,  How  does  the  reduc- 
tion of  prayer  to  psychological  laws  affect  the  conception  of 
man  as  a  free  agent?     Psychology  as  the  study  of  the  mental 
process  as  such  does  not  presume  to  answer  the  question  of  free 
decision ;      nevertheless,      pWchologists 
hold  opinions  on  the  subject  which  are 

T^  ,  entitled  to  respect.    There  is  a  growing 

Prayer  and.  ,  ,11 

_       J  tendency  among  many  psychologists  and 

philosophers  to  deny  much  which  the 
older  champions  of  freedom  insisted 
upon,  and  to  grant  much  which  the 
modern  determinist  affirms,  and  at  the  same  time  to  conserve  an 
element  of  free  will  of  sufficient  importance  to  make  man  a 
morally  responsible  being.  These  thinkers  call  themselves  self- 
determinists.  While  they  admit  that  heredity  and  environment 
are  factors  to  be  reckoned  with,  they  deny  that  the  basis  of 
man  is  materialistic.  They  assert  that  there  is  in  man  an  element 
not  reducible  to  the  strains  of  heredity  or  the  environing  forces. 
On  the  other  hand,  they  modify  the  sweeping  statement  of  the 
older  exponents  of  freedom,  and  ascribe  to  heredity  and  environ- 
ment many  reactions  which  some  have  regarded  as  the  outcome 
of  free  decision.  The  self-determinist  takes  issue  with  the 
libertarian  who  holds  the  theory  of  contingent  choice.  Professor 
G.  F.  Stout,  a  leading  psychologist  and  self-determinist,  says, 
"By  contingent  choice  is  meant  a  choice  which  does  not  issue 
out  of  the  total  processes  of  mental  life  in  accordance  with 
psychological  laws,  but  springs  into  being  of  itself  as  if  it  were 
fired  out  of  a  pistol."^  He  defines  self-determination  as  self- 
control  which  consists  in  "control  proceeding  from  the  self  as 
a  whole  and  determining  the  self  as  a  whole."^ 

Some  of  the  leading  psychologists  detect  an  element  of 
freedom  in  voluntary  attention.  They  maintain  that  heredity 
and  environment  cannot  explain  away  the  voluntaristic  strain 


^A  Manual  of  Psychology,  p.  614. 
Hbid.,  p.  615. 


Wider  Considerations  127 

manifested  in  the  effort  to  restrict  the  field  of  consciousness. 
Voluntary  attention  is  elemental :  it  cannot  be  reduced  to  other 
and  lower  terms.    To  quote  James  once 
more,  "Effort  of  attention  is  thus  the 
Prayer  and  essential    phenomenon    of    the    will."^ 

Voluntary  Another  writer  has  a  word  to  the  point, 

Attention  "The  will  reveals  itself  most  directly 

in  attention.  It  is  often  said  sweepingly 
that  a  man's  environment  makes  him. 
Not  to  insist  upon  the  obvious  fact  that  there  must  be  a  germ 
with  a  certain  nature  in  order  that  any  environment  may  work 
its  effect,  it  is  particularly  important  to  notice  in  the  case  of 
man  that  not  his  entire  environment,  but  only  that  part  of  his 
environment  to  which  he  attends  really  makes  him."^  Now 
we  have  observed  the  important  part  which  the  attention  plays 
in  prayer.  The  forcing  of  the  prayer  upon  the  mind  was  de- 
scribed in  terms  of  the  attention.  Without  a  marked  degree  of 
attention  true  prayer  is  impossible.  Voluntary  attention  in 
prayer  is  selective  in  nature.  Out  of  a  number  of  possibilities 
the  attention  selects  out  and  makes  prominent  certain  objects 
of  prayer.  In  order  to  sustain  the  contention  that  prayer  may  be 
an  expression  of  the  will,  it  is  wholly  unnecessary  to  prove  that 
each  and  every  prayer  has  its  genesis  in  free  decision;  it  is  suf- 
ficient to  point  out  the  fact  that  an  occasional  prayer  is  due  to 
choice.  The  vast  majority  of  prayers  are  doubtless  induced  by 
environing  forces  impinging  upon  the  self,  but  it  is  the  small 
minority  still  unaccounted  for  that  attest  the  element  of  self- 
direction. 

Man  has  the  innate  power  to  attend  or  not  to  attend  to 
prayer  the  realization  of  which  may  make  or  mar  him,  further 
his  adjustment  to  his  environment  or  even  change  an  unfavor- 


'^Principles  of  Psychology,  Vol.  ii,  p.  562. 
^H.  C.  King,  Rational  Living,  p.  169. 


128  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

able  environment.     Unless  the  will  expresses  itself  in  attention, 
the  laws  governing  prayer  are  not  made  operative.     Some  one 

has   well   said,    "Human   purpose    and 

volition    are   perpetually    playing    into 
Voluntary  the  system  of  law,  thereby  realizing  a 

Prayer  and  multitude  of  effects  which  the  system, 

Its  Laws  left  to  itself,  would  never  produce,  yet 

in  such  a  way  that  no  law  is  broken. 

Natural  law  of  itself  would  never  do 
any  of  the  things  which  men  are  doing  by  means  of  it.  The 
work  of  the  world  is  done  by  natural  forces  under  human  guid- 
ance. It  is  the  outcome  at  once  of  law  and  purpose."^  In  view 
of  the  fact  that  an  act  of  the  will  may  make  operative  the 
principles  which  underlie  prayer,  it  is  puerile  to  raise  the  question, 
Why  must  we  pray  at  all  if  a  divine  Intelligence  broods  over 
us  and  knows  our  every  want  long  before  we  can  formulate  it? 
rPrayer  is  not  a  dumb-waiter  bringing  down  from  heaven  gifts 
ready-made  for  those  who  are  too  indolent  to  exert  themselves. 
Here  also  it  is  true  that  God  helps  him  who  helps  himself.  To 
demand  that  God  set  aside  the  natural  order  to  grant  a  favor 
to  an  inactive  and  passive  petitioner,  would  be  no  more  rational 
than  to  expect  to  reap  a  harvest  without  sowing,  or  to  live 
without  eating."}  In  the  matter  of  prayer  man  is  self-deter- 
minative in  so  far  as  he  by  his  own  volition  can  attend  to 
certain  objects  of  prayer  the  automatic  realization  of  which 
affects  his  personal  life.  The  writer  subscribes  to  the  view 
that  man  is  morally  responsible  because  he  on  his  own  initiative 
may  make  operative  the  laws  which  determine  his  character. 

The  third  question  which  this  study  raises  has  reference 
to  the  nature  and  character  of  God  as  revealed  in  a  psychological 


^B.  P.  Bownc,  The  Essence  of  Religion,  p.  136. 


Wider  Considerations  129 

description  of  prayer.    A  study  of  the  mental  processes  involved 
in  prayer  neither  proves  nor  disproves  the  existence  of  God. 
The  affirmation  or  denial  of  the  exist- 
ence of  God  is  more  a  reflection  of  one's 
The  Existence  vrorld-view^   than    an    inference    drawn 

of  God  and  frow     the     findings     of     psychology. 

Prayer  Psychology    by    searching    cannot    find 

out  God.  The  writer  accepts  the  ex- 
istence of  God  because  his  philosophy 
is  idealistic.  Contrary  to  popular  opinion,  the  reduction  of  the 
facts  of  prayer  to  recognizable  mental  operations  does  not  make 
the  existence  of  God  unnecessary  and  therefore  highly  improb- 
able. Only  the  superficial  mind  consigns  God  to  innocuous 
desuetude  when  once  his  modes  of  self-expression  are  discovered. 
This  study  points  toward  a  God  who  reveals  himself  in  law 
and  order.  He  is  not  the  author  of  confusion  but  of  regularity. 
The  phenomenon  of  prayer  is  not  only  in  a  universe  of  law, 
but  is  also  an  integral  part  of  it.  To  assign  to  prayer  a  well- 
merited  place  in  the  realm  of  natural  law  is  to  rescue  it  from 
the  chaotic  and  capricious,  from  the  weird  and  bizarre,  from 
portents  and  prodigies,  from  infractions  of  and  departures  from 
the  natural  order.  If  God  operates  through  law  it  follows  that 
wherever  laws  are  to  be  found  he  is  manifesting  himself.  But 
let  it  be  said  with  emphasis  that  to  reduce  prayer  to  laws  written 
within  us  is  far  from  offering  an  explanation  of  those  laws,  un- 
less explanation  is  simply  to  show  that  a  given  fact  is  related  to 
another  fact  with  which  we  are  already  acquainted.  The  prayer 
life,  even  when  reducible  to  law,  is  still  an  impenetrable  mystery. 
The  most  that  can  be  said  is  that  prayer  as  a  regular  phenomenon 
seems  to  express  the  orderly  nature  of  the  Power  sustaining  it. 
And  that  is  after  all  a  great  deal.  Ten- 
nyson in  his  justly  famous  apostrophe  to 
Prayer  the  flower  in  the  crannied  wall  says  that 

Reflects  God's  if  he  understood  it  root  and  all  he  would 

Orderly  Nature  know  the  nature  of  God  and  man.   Yet 

this  much  we  know  about  a  flower:  it 
cannot  transcend  the  laws  of  its  being; 
it  cannot  grow  suspended  in  midair  in  a  perpetually  dark  cave. 
Although  it  holds  in  its  petals  the  secret  of  the  universe  it  pro- 


130  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

claims  to  all  the  world  that  its  author  moves  in  an  orderly 
fashion.  In  a  similar  way  this  study  looks  toward  a  God  who 
is  continually  realizing  himself  in  terms  of  the  generalizations 
which  we  call  the  laws  of  prayer. 

The  conception  of  a  God  who  lives  apart  from  man  out 
yonder  on  the  most  distant  star  in  the  stellar  universe,  self-con- 
tained and  self-sufficient,  should  no  longer  obtain.  The  doctrine 
of  the  immanence  of  God  sees  in  God  the  soul  of  the  universe, 
the  sustainer  as  well  as  the  creator  of  all  that  is.  Furthermore, 
the  artificial  barrier  which  has  been 
erected  between  the  so-called  sacred 
The  Sacred  and     secular     should     be     demolished, 

and  the  The  distinction  is  unfortunate.    When 

Secular  we   reflect   that   the   psychological   ele- 

ments in  the  conversion  of  a  Christian 
are  akin  to  those  in  the  conversion  of 
a  Sioux  Indian,  that  the  elimination  of  evil  through  prayer 
does  not  difFer  essentially  from  the  breaking  of  a  bad  habit 
through  suggestion,  that  the  answering  of  the  prayer  for  guid- 
ance out  of  a  perplexity  and  the  subconscious  solution  of  a 
mathematical  problem  arc  reducible  to  the  same  mental  processes, 
that  the  cure  of  hysteria  and  the  relief  afforded  by  the  prayer 
of  confession  and  praise  are  describable  in  terms  of  psychoan- 
alysis, that  divine  healing  and  mental  therapeutics  owe  their 
efficacy  to  suggestion, — when  we  carefully  weigh  all  of  these 
facts  we  feel  compelled  to  posit  a  God  principle  broad  enough 
to  be  the  common  source  of  these  manifold  phenomena.  One 
and  the  same  God  manifests  himself  in  the  law  of  gravitation 
and  in  the  answer  to  prayer.  There  is  no  separate  and  distinct 
system  of  law  exclusively  devoted  to  the  answering  of  prayer. 
In  the  wise  economy  of  the  natural  order  answers  to  prayer 
and  phenomena  other  than  answers  to  prayer  are  the  product 
of  one  and  the  same  system  of  law.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the 
things  wrought  through  prayer  have  been  invested  with  a  peculiar 
sanction  to  the  disparagement  of  the  same  things  obtained 
through  other  means.  A  cure  resulting  through  the  skill  of  a 
physician  has  been  regarded  as  secular,  and  a  cure  in  answer 


Wider   Considerations  131 

to  prayer  has  been  considered  a  special  manifestation  of  God's 
power.  When  once  the  significance  of  the  immanence  of  God 
is  grasped,  all  healing  is  divine,  all  guidance  is  providential,  all 
elimination  of  evil  is  the  work  of  the  Eternal. 

If  it  be  true  that  answer  to  prayer  is  obtained  through 
the  mental  laws  made  operative  by  man,  it  follow^s  that  the 
purpose  of  man  himself  and  not  the  mind  of  God  is  changed 
through  prayer.  The  true  end  of  prayer  is  the  construction  of 
a  personality  at  one  with  God,  and  not  the  changing  of  the 
plan  and  purpose  of  the  Eternal.  In 
the  equation  of  prayer  man  is  the  vari- 
Prayer  Does  able  and  the  purpose  of  God  is  the  con- 

Not  Change  stant  factor.    While  we  hold  that  God 

God's  Purpose  is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and  for- 

ever in  his  unchanging  attitude  toward 
man,  it  is  equally  and  marvelously 
tenable  that  the  answering  of  prayer  through  man  is  God's  best 
opportunity  for  self-expression  and  self-expansion.  Only  as 
man  chooses  to  express  himself  in  highest  terms  of  conduct  does 
God  himself  come  into  his  own.  In  a  very  vital  sense  we  not 
only  live  and  move  and  have  our  being  in  him,  but  he,  in  turn, 
lives  and  moves  and  has  his  being  in  us. 

Manifestly  nothing  of  eternal  value  is  lost  in  a  psychological 
analysis  of  prayer.     We  have  observed  that  prayer  is  useful, 
that  it  furthers  adaptations  to  the  environment,  that  it  is  come 
that  we  might  have  life  and  that  we  might  have  it  more  abun- 
dantly, that,  other  things  being  equal,  the  praying  individual  is 
likely  to  survive  Hsjrieighbor  who  neglects  prayer.     Prayer  is 
not   a   pathological  disturbance,   but   a 
normal  source  of  power.   We  have  seen 
that  the  attrlBute^f  freedom,  elemental 
Summary  in  nature,  expresses  itself  in  voluntary 

attention   and  ef^Eort  in  prayer.     Con- 
cessions to  heredity  and  environment  are 
freely  granted,  but  a  strain  of  freedom 
significant  enough  to  make  man  morally  responsible  is  conserved. 
Not  every  prayer  made  may  be  born  of  free  decision,  but  only 


132  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

an  occasional  and  exceptional  one.  The  exceptional  case  reveal- 
ing an  element  of  moral  choice  is  of  sufficient  importance  to 
establish  the  presence  and  potency  of  the  will.  Given  the  ex- 
istence of  God,  the  psychology  of  prayer  reveals  his  orderly 
nature,  breaks  down  the  deistic  distinction  between  the  so-called 
secular  and  sacred,  recognizes  his  presence  in  natural  law,  and 
holds  that  his  attitude  toward  man  is  unchangeable.  The  doc- 
trine of  the  immanence  of  God  is  in  harmony  with  the  facts  of 
prayer  as  psychology  interprets  them.  The  psychology  of  prayer 
does  not  presume  to  prove  the  existence  of  God,  but  it 
aims  to  show  how  God  answers  prayer.  From  the  point 
of  view  set  forth  in  these  pages,  prayer  involves  the 
co-operation  of  God  and  /man,  being  an  act  of  the 
will  making  operative  the  laws  of  God  written  within 
man.  Such  an  interpretation  conserves  the  utility  of  the 
life  of  prayer,  an  element  of  self-direction  in  man,  and 
an  immanent  God;  are  these  not  enough? 


APPENDIX 
QUESTIONNAIRE  ON  PRAYER 

The  following  questions  mean  to  throw  light  on  the  sub- 
ject of  prayer,  its  nature  and  scope.  This  is  not  an  attempt  to 
establish  any  doctrine,  but  to  find  the  principles  which  underlie 
prayer.  The  success  of  this  study  will  in  part  depend  on  the 
number  of  persons  who  are  willing  to  sacrifice  the  time  and 
effort  to  answer  the  following  list  of  questions. 

Every  confidence  will  be  sacredly  respected.  We  thank 
you  in  advance  for  any  response  you  may  see  fit  to  give  us. 

1.  Are  you  conscious  of  the  presence  of  God  when  you 
pray? 

2.  In  your  prayers  do  you  make  constant  use  of  the 
promises  of  the  Bible? 

3.  Do  you  really  believe  that  God  will  answer  your 
prayers  ? 

4.  Has  your  prayer  life  been  hindered  by  any  of  the 
following  things:  haste,  irregularity,  want  of  faith,  lack  of 
definiteness,  etc.? 

5.  Are  your  prayers  sometimes  answered  in  unexpected 
ways?    Give  instances. 

6.     (a)   What  things  do  you  make  objects  of  prayer? 
(b)   What  things,  if  any,  do  you  regard  as  improper 
objects  of  prayer? 

7.  State  what  success  you  have  had  through  prayer  in 
the  following  cases:  cure  of  disease,  change  of  heart,  temporal 
blessing,  purity  of  life,  elimination  of  evil,  etc. 

8.  How  do  you  account  for  unanswered  prayers,  if 
there  be  such? 

9.  Which  do  you  find  the  more  effective:  public  prayer 
by  either  the  minister  or  the  congregation,  or  private  prayer? 

10.  Give  an  account  of  any  extraordinary  answers  to 
prayer  you  may  have  had. 


134  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

11.  Were  you  accustomed  to  pray  as  a  child? 

12.  Were  there  any  family  prayers  in  your  home? 

13.  Please  give 

(a)   Name,   (b)   Age,   (c)   Sex,   (d)   Church  affilia- 
tion, if  any. 


A  SELECTED  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


TREATISES  ON  PRAYER  FROM  A  DEVOTIONAL 
STANDPOINT 

Biederwolf,  W.  G.,  How  Can  God  Answer  Prayer? 
Chicago,  1906. 

Dominican  Father,  A,  The  Rosary,  New  York,   1900. 

Gordon,  S.  D.,  Quiet  Talks  on  Prayer,  New  York,  1904. 

Holmes,  E.  Yj., Prayer  and  Action,  London,  1911. 

Lawrence,  Brother,  The  Practice  of  the  Presence  of  God, 
Chicago,  1895. 

Mott,  J.  R.,  The  Secret  Prayer  Life,  New  York, . 

Murray  A.,  With  Christ  in  the  School  of  Prayer,  New 
York,  1885. 

Phelps  A.,  The  Still  Hour,  Boston,  1859. 

Torrey,  R.  A.,  How  to  Pray,  New  York,  1900. 

Trumbull,  H.  C,  Prayer,  Its  Nature  and  Scope,  New 
York,  1896. 

,  Illustrative  Answers  to  Prayer,  New  York, 

1900. 

TREATISES  ON  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRAYER, 

AND   WORKS   ON   THE    PSYCHOLOGY   OF 

RELIGION  WITH  SPECIAL  REFERENCE 

TO  PRAYER 

Beck,  F.  O.,  Prayer,  a  Study  of  Its  History  and  Psychology, 

Amer.  Jour,  of  Rel.  Psych,  and  Edu.,  ii,  1906. 

Coe,  G.  A.,  The  Religion  of  a  Mature  Mind,  'New 
York,   1902. 

Cutten,  G.  B.,  The  Psychological  Phenomena  of  Christi- 
anity, New  York,  1909. 

Goddard,  H.  H.,  The  Effects  of  Mind  on  Body  as  Evi- 
denced by  Faith  Cures,  Amer.  Jour.  Psych.,  x,  1889. 


136  Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 

James,  Wm.,  The  Varieties  of  Religious  Experience,  New 
York,  1902. 

Marshall,  H.  R.,  Instinct  and  Reason,  New  York,  1898. 

Pratt.  J.  B.,  An  Empirical  Study  of  Prayer,  Amer.  Jour,  of 
Rel.  Psych,  and  Edu.,  iv,  1910. 

,    The  Psychology   of  Religious  Belief,   New 

York,  1907. 

Ransom,  W.  S.,  Studies  in  the  Psychology  of  Prayer,  Amer. 
Jour,  of  Rel.  Psych  and  Edu.,  i,  1904. 

Segond,  J.,  La  Priere,  Paris,  1911. 

Starbuck,  E.  D.,  The  Psychology  of  Religion,  London, 
1901. 

Strong,  A.  L.,  The  Psychology  of  Prayer,  Chicago,  1909. 

Worcester,  E.,  McComb,  S.,  Coriat,  I.  H.,  Religion  and 
Medicine,  New  York,  1908. 

Wundt,  W.  M.,  Voelkerpsychologie,  \\,  Leipsig,  1909. 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 
{NuTiibers    refer    to    pages.) 


Allen,   Robert,  82. 
Aristotle,  98. 
Arnold,  Matthew,  57. 
Augustine,  69. 

Bacon,  Francis,  46. 
Beethoven,  12. 
Begbie,  H.,  123. 
Biederwolf,  W.  G.,  109. 
Book,   F.  W.,   13. 
Bowne,  B.  P.,  46,  128. 
Buddha,  51,  63,  64,  77. 
Butcher,  S.  H.,  98. 

Carlyle,  Thos.,  60-61. 

Carpenter,  W.'B.,  62,  63,  73. 

Carrington,  H.,  29. 

Coe,  G.  A.,  56,  75,  108,  109. 

Coombs,  J.  v.,  66,  69,  70,  89. 

Curtis,  H.  S.,  84. 

Curtis,  O.  A.,  60. 

Davenport,  F.  W.,  81. 
Dessoir,  Max,   83. 
Dominic,  36. 
Dominican  Father,  37. 
Donaldson,  83. 

Eddy,  M.  B.,  67. 
Ellis,  Havelock,  114. 

Freud,  S.,  96-97,  98. 


Goddard,  H.  H.,  68,  71. 
Gordon,  A.  J.,  70. 
Gordon,  S.  D.,  105. 

Hamilton,  Sir  W.  Rowan,  62. 
Hanson,  F.  C,  84. 
Harlow,  W.  E.,  66. 
Hart,  E.  B.,  19. 
Hippocrates,  98. 
Holmes,  E.  E.,  90,   100. 
Howell,  W.  H.,  33. 
Hyslop,  T.  B.,  70. 

Jackson,  H.  H.,  107. 

James,  St.,   113. 

James,  Wm.,  32,  34,  41,  44,  49, 

53,  56,  102,  126. 
Jastrow,  Joseph,  11,  76,  84,  90. 
Jesus,  24,  43,  48,  64,  110. 

King,  H.  C,  126. 

Lawrence,  Brother,  35,  95,  101. 

Lehmann,  A.,   84. 

Lessing,   100. 

Leuba,  J.  H.,  30,  56. 

Lindley,  E.  H.,  27. 

Luther,  Martin,  23,  61. 

McCauley,  Jerry,  81. 
Marshall,  H.  R.,  28. 
Mott,  J  .R.,  24. 


138 


Auto-Suggestion  in  Private  Prayer 


Mueller,  F.  Max,  25. 
Mueller,  George,  81. 
Muensterberg,  Hugo,  41 

90,  91. 
Murray,  A.,  43,  48. 
Myers,  F.  W.,  52-53. 


Nachet,  M.,  62. 


Oldenberg,  H.,  63. 

Parish,  E.,  75,  90. 
Paul,  58,  59,  61,  100. 
Phelps,  A.,  30,  43,  111. 
PiUsbury,  W.   B.,  26. 
Pratt,  J.  B.,  19,  92. 

Reed,  C.  H.,  70. 
Ribot,  Theo.,  31,  32. 
Robertson,  F.  W.,  52. 

Scott,   C.   A.,   28. 
Scripture,  E.  W.,  46. 
Seashore,  C.  E.,  69. 
Sidis,  Boris,  20,  83,  114,  115. 
Sinclair,  Upton,  28. 
Socrates,    74. 


Stanley,  S.  T.,  19. 

Starbuck,  E.  D.,  12,  49,  56,  57, 

63. 
Stephen,  St.,  58. 
Stout,  G.  F.,   126. 
Strong,  A.  L.,  106,  112. 
Sunday,  W.  A.,  72. 

Teresa,   St.,-  31. 
Titchener,  E.  B.,  33. 
Todd,  H.  S.,  19. 
Torrey,  R.  A.,  43,  109. 
Trumbull,  H.  C,  43,  76,  86. 
Tylor,  E.  B.,  36. 

Unbekannt,  52. 

Wattles,  John,  86. 
Wenham,  F.  H.,  62. 
Wesley,  John,  60-61. 
Wiggins,    Mrs.,    117. 
Woods,  J.  H.,  64. 
Worcester,  E.,  47,  67. 
Wundt,    W.,    84. 

Zeller,    E.,    74. 


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